Merry Christmas Review: Raghavan's Ode to Vintage Bollywood Falls Flat

A mysterious lady with a mute kiddo and huge teddy on a dark Mumbai street is best avoided!! Atleast, that's what Sriram Raghavan's latest neo noir thriller seems to suggest...

Merry Christmas, with its share of typical Raghavan touch of unpredictability, intrigue and ode to vintage Bollywood, falls short of his earlier endeavors particularly Johnny Gaddaar (2007) and Andhadhun (2018). I had actually freaked out on Andhadhun and watched it twice in first week itself just to catch its finer nuances again. Not the same with Merry Christmas, which remains a disengaging slow burner for its major duration and flickers even when it gets to the thrill and chill mode... Bah!!!

To be fair, Raghavan's screenplay is more suited for the west and certainly not aamchi Mumbai, where no sane guy will ever strike an hour long conversation with a rank stranger in the middle of the night and then visit her house for a drink and dance. Unless its a paid deal. Haha!!

In fact, the first half is all conversation between Albert (Vijay Sethupathi) and the mysterious Maria (Katrina Kaif). Nothing really happens until interval time when we get to see a dead body and the suspense starts...

Post interval, Sanjay Kapoor pops up from nowhere and things get pretty monotonous from there in form of repeated scenarios and dialogues. Without playing spoiler, let me say that the entire drama shama looks utterly unconvincing. So does the climax.

Of the cast, Vijay is impressive in the lead role of Albert. He speaks through his eyes in many scenes. Katrina is not a great choice for the complex character of Maria and personally, I would have preferred Radhika Apte (who has an inconsequential cameo) in her place. Sanjay Kapoor and Vinay Pathak are strictly okey dokey.

At the end of the Saturday afternoon show at Matunga's Movietime Starcity, a lady in my next seat nudged me to ask what exactly happened in the end!! Her face was a dead giveaway that she wasn't convinced by what she saw. Ditto!!

Ratings on some key aspects* :
1. Acting : 3.5/5
2. Direction : 3/5
3. Music : 2/5
4. Story, Screenplay and Dialogue : 2/5
5. Cinematography : 3.5/5
6. Editing : 3/5
7. Costume Design : 2/5
8. Special Effects and VFX : NA
9. Action : NA
10. Production Quality : 3/5

#SNRating for #MerryChristmas : 2 & 1/2 stars out of 5.

- Sumeet Nadkarni

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* - The overall film rating is not a simple average of all ratings on key aspects but a weighted average of the ratings where some crucial aspects (like direction, acting, story and screenplay etc) are assigned more weightage than others.

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#SNRatings barometer:
1 star = Poor
1 & 1/2 star = Below average/ Avoidable
2 stars = Average
2 & 1/2 stars = Above average/ Risk it
3 stars = Good enough/ Endurable
3 & 1/2 stars = Definitely worth a watch
4 stars = Very good
5 stars = Masterpiece/ Outstanding.

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Sumeet Nadkarni is a Chartered Accountant by profession and a self-styled film critic by passion. He reviews Bollywood movies and OTT releases on his popular personal blog #SNRatings. His film-related articles have appeared in leading publications in India. With a keen eye for cinematic detail and a knack for insightful critiques, Sumeet brings a unique perspective to the world of Indian cinema. Follow him for the latest Bollywood insights and unbiased film reviews. #FilmCritique #BollywoodReviewer