Merry Christmas
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySriram Raghavan
Written by
  • Hindi Version:
  • Sriram Raghavan
  • Arijit Biswas
  • Pooja Ladha Surti
  • Anukriti Pandey
  • Tamil Version:
  • Pratheep Kumar S
  • Abdul Jabbar
  • Prasanna Bala Natarajan
  • Lata Karthikeyan
Based onLe Monte-charge
by Frédéric Dard[1]
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMadhu Neelakandan
Edited byPooja Ladha Surti
Music by
  • Songs:
  • Pritam
  • Score:
  • Daniel B. George
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • 12 January 2024 (2024-01-12)
Running time
144 minutes[2]
CountryIndia
Languages
  • Hindi
  • Tamil
Budget30 crore [3]
Box office₹9.65 crore[4]

Merry Christmas is a 2024 Indian mystery thriller film directed by Sriram Raghavan and starring Katrina Kaif (in her Tamil debut) and Vijay Sethupathi. It was filmed simultaneously in Hindi and Tamil. The film is produced by Ramesh Taurani, Jaya Taurani, Sanjay Routray and Kewal Garg under Tips Films and Matchbox Pictures. It is based on Frédéric Dard's French novel Le Monte-charge (Bird in a Cage).[5]

The film was officially announced in December 2021. Principal photography commenced the same month in Mumbai along with a sporadic schedule in Uttar Pradesh, which was again followed with a schedule in the former location, and wrapped by mid-January 2023. The film has music composed by Pritam, in his Tamil debut, cinematography handled by Madhu Neelakandan and editing by Pooja Ladha Surti.

After several postponements, Merry Christmas was released in theatres on 12 January 2024 to positive reviews, with the performances of Kaif and Sethupathi receiving praise.

Plot

In the Bombay of the 80s, Albert Arogianathan returns home after seven years, greeted by his neighbour uncle, who informs him about his mother's recent passing. Due to Albert being unreachable, uncle had to organize the funeral without him. Uncle hands him over a bottle of home made wine prepared by him which he has named "Yadhoom". Its Christmas Eve and Albert goes to bar cum restaurant where he encounters a stranger who was meant to have a date with a beautiful woman named Maria. The stranger cancels it upon seeing Maria with her mute child, Annie, and requests Albert to tell her that he had to leave for some urgent work.

Albert, in turn, shares the situation with Maria and leaves the restaurant. By chance, he again meets Maria and Annie at a cinema, watching the film The Adventures Of Pinocchio and they connect. Maria invites him to her apartment, to celebrate Christmas Eve together. Albert introduces himself as an architect who had just returned from Dubai while Maria says she owns a bakery beneath her house. At her home, Albert hangs on to her Christmas tree, a " bird in a cage" toy which he had purchased earlier that evening. While Maria plays loud music, she offers him whisky and goes to put Annie to sleep. After that she returns to drink wine and they both dance to together. As they bond, Maria reveals the difficulties in her marriage to Jerome who was initially her boyfriend's friend and has now became abusive. Albert also talks about Rosie, his boss' wife with whom he had fallen in love and had eloped to Goa seven years ago and unfortunately she had decided to go back to her husband but now had passed away. They then decide to go out for a walk and Maria writes a note for her husband whom she says might come back anytime. They decide to show each other their favourite spots in the city and then Albert invites her to his apartment where his neighbour uncle sees them.

After some time, upon returning to Maria's apartment, they are shocked to find Jerome lying dead on the couch, with a gun in his hand and Maria starts crying. Maria suggests calling the police, but Albert says he does not want to be involved. He reveals that he was the one who had killed Rosie and had spent the last seven years in prison and had just released that day. He says presence could lead to unneccessary suspicion on both and leaves but before which he tries to wipe off all his fingerprints but is unable to find the toy bird cage. Shaken, Albert seeks solace with tea at a tea shop nearby but is surprised to witness Maria calmly walking with her child again. Intrigued, he follows Maria to the church, where she pretends to faint and falls on Ronnie, a caterer. While Ronnie decides to take her to hospital, Albert intervenes to help him and he asks Albert to drive his car. Maria wakes up and asks them to take her to her house. Returning to Maria's apartment, Maria offers them drink and asks them to come up. Albert is surprised to find Jerome's body missing when they go inside. Maria plays music, offers drinks to them and goes away to put Annie to sleep while Ronnie reveals his intentions to sleep with Maria. Albert notices that the toy bird cage is seen on the Christmas tree and is surprised since it was not there when he came the second time.

Maria asks Ronnie to drive her to the church to find her lost watch and writes a note to her husband whom she says might come back anytime. Ronnie suggests to drop Albert on the way to which he agrees. Albert suspects Maria is involving Ronnie. After dropping Albert, Maria and Ronnie leave to Church. Albert however returns to Maria's home through backdoor staircase and is shocked to discovers Jerome's body in exact same position when he had come the second time. He comforts Annie who is sleeping in her bedroom. He asks her not to get petrified as says he is "Santa". When Ronnie and Maria return, he hears Maria cry seeing deadbody and asking Ronnie to call police who promptly does so. As Maria comes to see Annie in her room, she finds Albert and asks him to leave. As Albert climbs down the stairs, he sees police and fearing him to be mistaken as thief, he tries to goes back to Maria's home again through backdoor but finds it locked from inside. Hence, he proceeds to go to upper floor where he is flabbergasted at what he sees. In the meanwhile, Ronnie asks Maria to tell all the events as it happened but they decide not to tell anything about Albert as it will lead to unnecessary confusion. The police, suspicious of Ronnie, take him to the station after sealing the crime scene.

Soon after, Maria goes to upper floor but is surprised to see Albert there. Albert reveals to her that he has found out that Maria had created a replica of her apartment as an alibi in the upper floor where she had taken him the first time and again the third time when he had come with Ronnie whereas the dead body was in the lower floor and she had taken him there the second time and also the final time when she came with Ronnie - thereby creating a situation as though Jerome was dead while she was away with the stranger.

Maria breaksdown and confesses to Albert that she killed Jerome as he was suspicious of her fidelity and abused her. She reveals how she spiked Jerome's drinks with his own drugs and killed him with his own gun in his own hand while loud music was playing upstairs when Albert came the first time. She also reveals how she used to bring Annie to the down floor through backdoor stairs to avoid suspicion. Albert offers to help her. They decide to destroy the replica apartment. While doing so they find Ronnie's wallet hidden in the couch but Albert holds onto it and decides to return it to "Lost & Found" section in the Church. He also asks Maria to give the toy bird cage to Annie as a gift from Santa and leaves to his home.

During police interrogation, Ronnie reveals about Albert as a proof for the events unfolded. Albert is brought to police station the next day. There he reveals he was on parole from Nashik jail and had not revealed it to Ronnie but testifies Ronnie's statement as true. Maria's version also matches their statements. As post mortem report reveals it to be suicide, police decides to let go all the three - Ronnie, Albert and Maria and close the case. However, Ronnie admits that he is ashamed to agree but he had deliberately hidden his wallet in her couch so that he can come again to her home in the guise of searching it but it wasn't found the second time he came. Maria says she didn't find any wallet.

Thus, Ronnie putforths a theory that a thief might have broken in and during his theft attempt, he might have killed Jerome and left with his wallet. Thus, it is deduced that whoever has the wallet might be the killer. Annie, playing with the toy Albert gave her, reveals to police that it was given to her by her "Santa" and points fingers at Albert - thus negating the events unfolded as explained to the police. At this point, Albert shows Ronnie's wallet to the police and surrenders to them before which he puts an engagement ring on Maria's finger implying that he will take the blame to save her and Annie.

Cast

Cast (Hindi) Cast (Tamil) Role (Hindi) Role (Tamil)
Katrina Kaif Maria
Vijay Sethupathi Albert
Ashwini Kalsekar Scarlett, Ronnie's Wife
Luke Kenny Jerome, Maria's husband
Radhika Apte Rosie (Cameo appearance)
Gayathrie Singer (Cameo appearance)
Sahil Vaid Maria's date (Cameo appearance)
Pari Maheshwari Sharma Annie, Maria's daughter
Sanjay Kapoor Kavin Jay Babu Ronnie Fernandes Ronnie
Vinay Pathak Shanmugarajan Police Inspector Paresh Kamdar Police Inspector S. Devaraj
Pratima Kazmi Radhika Sarathkumar Police Constable Laxmi
Tinnu Anand Rajesh Yadhoom Uncle

Production

Development

In January 2021, it was reported that director Sriram Raghavan had put his directorial venture Ekkis, starring Varun Dhawan, on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic and began working on a new project, which he reportedly approached Hindi actress Katrina Kaif and Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi for to play in the lead roles.[6] The film's launch was reported to be made in April, however, due to the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic and Katrina testing positive for COVID-19, the launch was delayed.[7] On 25 December, the film was officially announced with Ramesh Taurani and Sanjay Routray as producers.[8]

Casting

Producer Ramesh, while speaking to ETimes, said "Vijay suited the role perfectly so we approached him for this film." and "Katrina was always our only choice for the role right from the beginning."[9] In early March 2022, Sanjay Kapoor was announced to play an important role in the Hindi version of the film.[10] In April, Radhika Sarathkumar was also announced being a part of the cast of the Tamil version. Vinay Pathak was announced as a part of the cast of the Hindi version in August. He was further more said to be playing a key role in the film.[11] In July 2023, Ashwini Kalsekar and Radhika Apte were announced to be playing a cameo in the film.[12]

Filming

The principal photography began on 25 December 2021, with the first schedule in Mumbai.[13] The shooting was put on hold in early January 2022, due to rising of COVID-cases.[14] The shooting started again in early February in Filmistan Studio in Mumbai.[15] Sanjay started filming his portions in March.[10] Katrina continued filming her portions on 11 March.[16] The first schedule concluded in March.The second schedule commenced on 19 March in a studio in Chitrakoot. The schedule was said to be 45-days long.[17]

Raadhika Sarathkumar started filming her portions in April.[18] Due to an fire incident in the district in August, the schedule was moved to a studio in Vrindavan.[11] The second schedule finished in November. In the third schedule, which commenced in November in Mumbai, pictures of Katrina, Sethupathi and Kapoor from the sets were released on social media's by paparazzi's.[19] Further more pictures were taken few more days after the former.[20] The principal photography wrapped in January 2023, with an official confirmation on Sethupathi's birthday.[21]

Post-production

Raghavan started the post-production works in mid November 2022, as the filming was in the last schedule.[20] Raghavan, in May 2023, revealed that the film is a bilingual film, meaning that it was simultaneously shot in Hindi and Tamil languages.[22] The film marks Raghavan's and Kaif's debut in Tamil cinema. Each version will reportedly have a different set of co-actors.[23] Deepa Venkat dubbed for Katrina's character in the Tamil version of the film. Raadhika Sarathkumar reprises Vinay Pathak's role in the Tamil version.[22]

Music

The music is composed by Pritam, marking his Tamil debut.[24] The audio rights were acquired by Tips Music.[25] The first single titled "Merry Christmas Title Track" was released on 25 December 2023. The second single titled "Nazar Teri Toofan" was released on 4 January 2024.[26] The third single titled "Raat Akeli Thi" was released on 10 January 2024.[27]

All lyrics are written by Varun Grover

Hindi
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Merry Christmas - Title Track"Ash King2:32
2."Nazar Teri Toofan"Papon4:03
3."Raat Akeli Thi"Arijit Singh4:24
4."Raat Akeli Thi"Antara Mitra4:24

All lyrics are written by Yugabharathi

Tamil
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Merry Christmas - Title Track"Benny Dayal2:32
2."Anbe Vidai"Sreerama Chandra4:03
3."Kanadha Kadal"Karthik4:24

Release

Theatrical

Merry Christmas was initially set to release in cinemas on 23 December 2022, but got delayed due to production delays.[28] Then it was planned for a December 2023 release, before being rescheduled to 12 January 2024.[29]

Home media

The streaming rights were bought by Netflix for ₹60 crore (US$7.5 million).[30]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 82% of 11 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.70/10.[31]

In Film Companion, Rahul Desai described the film as “exceptional and remarkably moving… a sublime deconstruction of the romantic thriller” and highlighted the “self-contained” chemistry between Kaif and Sethupathi. He praised the duo's performances and especially singled out Kaif for giving “a performance within a performance”, in which she “nails the ambiguity of a mother disguised as a woman”.[32] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave 3.5 stars out of 5 and hailed the film as "a delightfully inventive cinematic ride that employs a very 1980s Hindi cinema soundscape and an evocative and transportive colour palette". He liked the contrast between Kaif and Sethupathi and opined that the former gave "one of most convincing screen performances of her career, portraying confusion and vulnerability cloaked in occasional flashes of steely determination".[33] Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave 3 stars out of 5 and felt that "Despite their unusual pairing, Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi manage to work together, as she once more demonstrates her acting prowess behind all the pancake and bump-and-grind.[34] Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times said that "You won't jump out of this Vijay Sethupathi and Katrina Kaif film when it comes to any major surprise or the conclusion, but you will enjoy excellent cinematography clever writing and an interesting movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Even if you only see it once, Sriram Raghavan's cinematic universe is worth watching.[35]

Anuj Kumar of The Hindu called the movie "a sumptuous slice of crime" and said, "In this noirish story of a long night, Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi make a surprising duo that works well together. The story's crux is more interesting than the conclusion.[36] Sukanya Verma of rediff.com gave 4 stars out of 5 and praised the performance and direction, she wrote "You'll be sighing in Merry Christmas as you've never sighed in a Sriram Raghavan film before thanks to its amazing climax.[37] Lachmi Deb Roy of Firstpost wrote in her review that "The movie is guaranteed to bring back fond memories for everyone who loves Bombay, particularly for those who adore the Regal theatre, Colaba's alleyways, and the ancient, architecturally stunning homes. The leisurely pacing of the film adds to its allure. Undoubtedly, a Merry Christmas is a unique experience.[38] Giving the film 4 stars, Devesh Sharma of Filmfare summarised it as "a dark comedy that will make you smile and scratch your head at the same time... a noir that showcases the triumph of human spirit and compassion". He further praised Sethupathi for delivering "another solid performance" and Kaif for showing "she can stand and deliver... in perhaps, her first full-fledged dramatic role".[39]

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2024-01-12. Retrieved 2024-01-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ↑ "'Merry Christmas (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 11 January 2024. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  3. ↑ "Merry Christmas Box Office Day 1 Early Predictions: Katrina Kaif And Vijay Sethupathi Starrer To Have A Rs 2 Crore Start; Set To Be Actress' LOWEST Opening In 10 Years". Times of India. 13 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2024. The film was reportedly made on a budget of Rs. 60 crore, and shot in both Tamil and Hindi simultaneously.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ↑ "Merry Christmas Box Office Collection | India | Day Wise". Bollywood Hungama. 2024-01-12. Archived from the original on 2024-01-13. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2024-01-12. Retrieved 2024-01-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ↑ "Katrina Kaif signs Sriram Raghavan's next opposite Vijay Sethupathi". The Times of India. 2021-01-11. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2024-01-14. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  7. ↑ "Vijay Sethupathi & Katrina Kaif's Merry Christmas postponed". The Times of India. 2021-04-27. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  8. ↑ "'Merry Christmas': Katrina Kaif teams up with Sriram Raghavan and Vijay Sethupathi for her next project". The Times of India. 2021-12-25. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  9. ↑ "Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi were the only choice for 'Merry Christmas', says producer Ramesh Taurani". The Times of India. 2022-03-06. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  10. 1 2 "Sanjay Kapoor roped in for Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi starrer 'Merry Christmas'". The Times of India. 2022-03-02. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  11. 1 2 "Katrina Kaif's Merry Christmas moves shoot from Chitrakoot to Vrindavan studios - Exclusive". The Times of India. 2022-08-07. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  12. ↑ "Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi starrer 'Merry Christmas' to release on December 15, 2023 - See poster". The Times of India. 2023-07-17. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  13. ↑ "Vijay Sethupathi & Katrina Kaif start shooting for Merry Christmas!". The Times of India. 2021-12-25. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  14. ↑ "Shooting of Katrina Kaif's 'Merry Christmas' with Vijay Sethupathi in Delhi cancelled amid rising COVID cases – Details inside". The Times of India. 2022-01-05. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  15. ↑ "Katrina Kaif to shoot 'Merry Christmas' in Mumbai next month – Exclusive!". The Times of India. 2022-01-14. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  16. ↑ "Katrina Kaif starts shooting for 'Merry Christmas' co-starring Vijay Sethupathi; Shares a picture from the sets". The Times of India. 2022-03-11. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  17. ↑ "Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi kick-start the second schedule of 'Merry Christmas' in Mumbai: Reports". The Times of India. 2022-03-19. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  18. ↑ "Radikaa Sarathkumar shoots with Katrina Kaif for their Hindi film". The Times of India. 2022-04-21. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  19. ↑ "ETimes Exclusive! Katrina Kaif shoots late at night for 'Merry Christmas' with Vijay Sethupathi and Sanjay Kapoor". The Times of India. 2022-11-13. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  20. 1 2 "Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi ride around South Mumbai in a taxi for 'Merry Christmas' shoot - Photos inside". The Times of India. 2022-11-24. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  21. ↑ "On Vijay Sethupathi's birthday, team Merry Christmas, Sanjay Kapoor and others announce a wrap". The Times of India. 2023-01-16. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  22. 1 2 "Sriram Raghavan spills the beans on Vijay Sethupathi and Katrina Kaif's 'Merry Christmas'; says 'it is a love story'". The Times of India. 2023-05-04. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  23. ↑ Hungama, Bollywood (August 14, 2023). "Merry Christmas: Here's why the makers of Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi starrer unveiled different posters for Tamil and Hindi : Bollywood News - Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  24. ↑ Hungama, Bollywood (2023-12-15). "Merry Christmas Cast List | Merry Christmas Movie Star Cast | Release Date | Movie Trailer | Review- Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 2023-10-12. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  25. ↑ "Vijay Sethupathi and Katrina Kaif's 'Merry Christmas' is already looking wicked good". Vogue India. 2023-07-17. Archived from the original on 2023-09-30. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  26. ↑ "Makers of Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi starrer Merry Christmas release heartfelt song 'Nazar Teri Toofan'". Bollywood Hungama. 4 January 2024. Archived from the original on 4 January 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  27. ↑ "Raat Akeli Thi: Katrina-Vijay spark romance in 'Merry Christmas' song". The Statesman. 10 January 2024. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  28. ↑ "Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi starrer 'Merry Christmas' release date postponed; Here's why". The Times of India. 2022-10-29. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  29. ↑ "Katrina Kaif – Vijay Sethupathi starrer Merry Christmas pre-proponed to December 8, 2023; averts clash with Sidharth Malhotra starrer Yodha". Bollywood Hungama. 3 October 2023. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  30. ↑ "Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi's 'Merry Christmas' streaming rights sold for over Rs 60 crore: Report". The Times of India. 2023-07-25. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  31. ↑ "Merry Christmas". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 15 January 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  32. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2024-01-12. Retrieved 2024-01-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  33. ↑ Chatterjee, Saibal (12 January 2024). "Merry Christmas Review: Katrina Kaif-Vijay Sethupathi Thriller Bewitches Even When It Baffles". NDTV. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  34. ↑ Gupta, Shubhra (12 January 2024). "Merry Christmas movie review: Terrific Katrina Kaif, Vijay Sethupathi deliver a solid start to the new year". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  35. ↑ Kukreja, Monika Rawal (12 January 2024). "Merry Christmas movie review: Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi sparkle in a Sriram Raghavan world". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  36. ↑ Kumar, Anuj (12 January 2024). "'Merry Christmas' movie review: Sriram Raghavan delivers a sumptuous slice of crime thanks to a fabulous Vijay Sethupathi". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  37. ↑ Sukanya, Verma (12 January 2024). "Merry Christmas Review: Ho, Ho, Whoa!". rediff.com. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  38. ↑ Roy, Lachmi Deb (12 January 2024). "Vijay Sethupathi & Katrina Kaif's Merry Christmas Movie Review: Cleverly made dark comedy". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  39. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2024-01-13. Retrieved 2024-01-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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