There is something absurdly poetic about fish in a flush-tank. In a scene in Sriram Raghavan’s latest Merry Christmas, Albert (Vijay Sethupathi) feels something is amiss after using the toilet. He lifts the lid of the tank and finds two goldfish fluttering inside, swaying to life as the container fills up with water. While watching the film, the viewer goes through something similar. A soothing night turns into one of breathlessness and uncertainty. Raghavan takes you, happy-go-lucky down a waterslide, plunges you into the deep end and when you are at the bottom, choking, unable to find a way, he sucks the pool empty. It’s great to feel the air back in your lungs. Just that you are getting thirsty again.
Although giving any plot description for Merry Christmas feels like a mortal sin, I guess it’s safe to introduce the characters. Sethupathi is Albert, who gets off the train at Mumbai (when it was called Bombay). If somebody asks, he tells them he recently returned from Dubai. Seeing men in uniform makes him nervous. He lives in a Christian neighbourhood, in an apartment he probably once shared with his mother. She passed away while he was away. Observe here how Raghavan and his team of writers, Arijit Biswas, Pooja Ladha Surti and Anukriti Pandey, portray his grief. He sighs and naps on his mother’s bed, beside her spectacles on the side-table. Touching.
Such economical writing adorns the screenplay of Merry Christmas. Out and alone on Christmas eve, when Albert sees single-mother Maria (Katrina Kaif), violins don’t croon in the background, there is no swoop-off-the-feet pickup line. There are just glances, some cute jokes and an awkwardness. The sharp dialogues land delicately when uttered by Sethupathi in his adorable Tamil accent. His Albert is like luck smiling at you when you go on a blind Tinder date. Kaif as Maria is restrained and mysterious. She switches well between cool and cold. In a beautiful scene, they let loose and dance together to a Christmas song. Kaif is modern and poised, Sethupathi is abandoned. Together, the two of them have the tenderness of first love, with a sexual tension that might need a chainsaw to cut.
Raghavan sets his story with relish, like he is spreading a picnic mat. Most of Merry Christmas is build-up but not the kind where you are impatient for shit to go down. It’s so comforting, I wouldn’t mind living in it. But since this is a mystery-thriller, murder is inevitable. Once the body is found, Raghavan turns up the turntable. The background-score by Daniel B. George, who previously collaborated with Raghavan on Andhadhun (2018), Agent Vinod (2012) and Johnny Gaddaar (2007), elevates otherwise ordinary scenes. Because of the unhurried premise setting, the payoffs are earned. Every sequence seems like it is gifting a puzzle piece to the viewer. Hence, after watching the film, you constantly retrace the plot in your head, arranging then rearranging the jigsaw. It’s this post-interaction with the medium that we live for.
Die-hard fans of Raghavan’s previous film Andhadhun, might miss the beat-to-beat excitement it offered. Merry Christmas is more calm and composed. It leaves things unsaid, twists unexplained and offers so much to read between the lines. Try to decipher it or let it linger on in your head.
Film: Merry Christmas
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Cast: Vijay Sethupathi, Katrina Kaif, Sanjay Kapoor, Radhika Apte, Vinay Pathak, Ashwini Kalsekar and Pratima Kannan
Rating:3.5/5