Merry Christmas Review - Sriram Raghavan's Dark Christmas With "Devotion Of Suspect"

Merry Christmas Review: Sriram Raghavan is back with another dark thriller, but nobody would have thought of such a merry title from him. Merry Christmas is a dark Christmas thriller starring an unusual pair of Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi. You might know Devotion of Suspect X from any of its versions, so there is a beautiful woman, a not-so-good-looking man, and there is a murder. Well, that's all I can give you. Don't ask more because it's a thriller and because it's a Sriram Raghavan thriller. The idea of Devotion of Suspect may be too old for some, maybe not for others, but it's again Sriram Raghavan's touch that makes it different. Also, in that tale, one has to plan all things, but here, you get a "different" and a "natural" twist from Raghvan. This information might prepare you for a feast, or might have already spoiled many things—I don't know.On a Christmas eve from the days when Mumbai was called Bombay, Albert (Vijay Sethupathi) returns to his home in South Mumbai after spending 7 years in jail. On his night out, he gets acquainted with a beautiful lady, Maria (Katrina Kaif), and her little daughter, Annie (Pari Sharma). They watch a movie, walk home together, and then begin a series of mysterious events, unknowingly. After spending a quick good time at Maria's house, they head to Albert's house. They again came back to Maria's house, but they didn't know that this time they would be joined by the dead body of Maria's husband, Jerome. Who killed Jerome? Can Albert really get away from this crime? Or will his past records make him a prime suspect? What does Maria know, and how does she get a new man, Ronnie (Sanjay Kapoor), involved in all this? Will the inspector, Kaamdar (Vinay Pathak), be able to find the killer?Written by Sriram Raghavan, Arijit Biswas, Pooja Ladha Surti, and Anukriti Pandey, Merry Christmas is a long narrative that fails to create any kind of suspense in the first half. The second half starts off on a completely different note, leaving you thinking about the reliability of the plot. For instance, Albert has literally no reaction to the same events happening again in front of him, as if he were studying the case, not solving it. "Was he blind?" you ask yourself, and nobody will give you any answer. His curiosity was dumb since he (and all of us) knew that he had just come from jail, so he should be the first person to stay away from any crime events. Yet he dives into it. That makes you lose interest in the overall mysterious narrative since the protagonist isn't seen making any smart moves. Maria's character is rather smart, and that's perhaps the only one. It's too much if you are asking your viewers to keep their interest alive for 140 minutes and then offer some known theories in the much-hyped climax. Logically, it ended on a good note, but where was the thrill we have been waiting for for 2 and a half hours?Merry Christmas has Vijay Sethupathi in quite a comic role. That's contrary to the dark thriller zone in which the film is set. But who doesn't like to laugh at seeing two people having a conversation? Vijay doesn't fit well with his accent, and it has been a big problem for all Hindi movies and projects he has done so far. He will have to be presented as a "South Guy," and that's the only way we can relate to him. But as a performer, he is unbeatable. Arguably, the best actor in India right now. Albert's role wasn't that great, but he was fine. Katrina Kaif, again, has the same accent problem. But with her, it's quite habitual now. We've all known her and her accent for almost two decades now, so let's skip that discussion. Here, she has a few scenes to grow as a performer, but she could have done better and could have kept that glam appeal aside. Vinay Pathak has a weak role, so there is nothing much to say. Sanjay Kapoor sets the mood jolly with his charismatic appearance, while his reel-wife Ashwini Kalsekar brings a few laughs. Pari Sharma looks like a cute little doll, but wait for the end when this same doll has nothing less than an "Annabelle-level" twist for you.On technical fronts, Merry Christmas lacks a few things here and there. That impact of the background score is missing. Raghavan uses some comical chillifying songs to make you feel nostalgic, but I don't think anything will stay with you after the film. Nazar Teri Toofan and Raat Akeli songs only make it longer. If you feel bored while watching the film, then blame the songs and slow screenplay for it. After you are done with that, blame Raghavan for making things this slow. In the beginning credits, we get a title with an animal, but before that, he dedicates Merry Christmas to Shakti Samantha. That becomes true because Samantha's films had that logical touch in the endings. Raghavan gets that right, but forgets to add his own touch. The man who is a big fan of Hitchcock cinema should be aware that the "mother" of all your suspenses (like Psycho) has to be there in the climax. We have a "daughter" here. Now take that sentence as a review—practically and metaphorically both—and you'll understand what he missed with Merry Christmas. This could have been so much of Raghavan and Hitchcock, but it turned out to be so much of Samantha and Edmund Goulding. So much of Devotion of Suspect too, not Andhadhun nor Johnny Gaddaar.