REVIEW 790: MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

Release date:	January 12, 2024
Director:	Sriram Raghavan
Cast:	Katrina Kaif, Vijay Sethupathi, Sanjay Kapoor, Pari Maheshwari Sharma, Vinay Pathak, Pratima Kannan, Luke Kenny, Cameos: Radhika Apte, Gayathrie Shankar
Language:	2 versions of this film were shot – one Tamil, one Hindi – with different supporting casts. This is a review of the Hindi version.

 

“So this is Christmas / And what have you done?”

These words from the 1971 John Lennon-Yoko Ono song Happy Xmas (War Is Over) flash on the screen as a prelude to the director Sriram Raghavan’s Merry Christmas. They are played in quick succession with a tribute to Shakti Samanta and a teaser featuring the film’s stars Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi. The teaser alerts us to Raghavan’s intent to deceive and reveal in equal measure minus melodrama through this narrative. 

 

Happy Xmas – credited here to Lennon alone – is an introspective carol that “emerged from an era of activism and opposition to the Vietnam War”, as a blog by a Lecturer of International Politics on the University of Liverpool’s website explains. There are no manipulative global superpowers at work in Raghavan’s Merry Christmas. The battle here is familial, resulting in an unexpected alliance. And the director’s treatment is devised as a paean to Samanta, maker of such classic thrillers as Howrah Bridge (1958), China Town (1962) and Kati Patang (1971). 

 

Raghavan is a master of mystery. His filmography includes the stop-in-your-tracks delightful Andhadhun (2018), and his gripping debut feature Ek Hasina Thi (2004). Merry Christmas – an adaptation of the French novel Le Monte-Charge(English title: Bird in a Cage) by Frédéric Dard, with a Hindi script by Raghavan, Arijit Biswas, Pooja Ladha Surti (also the editor) and Anukriti Pandey – is a crime drama aspiring to be a love saga. It is a slow burn that is intriguing in its first hour, but declines after its big reveal. 

 

Since even minor specifics could be spoilers, here is a broad introduction to Merry Christmas’ plot. Kaif plays Maria who runs a bakery in Mumbai. She is married and a mother. Her daughter Annie is mute. Sethupathi’s Albert is returning home to Mumbai after several years, following his mother’s passing. When their paths cross, Albert feels an inexplicable empathy for Maria that goes beyond the appeal of her good looks. His past quickly catches up with him though, so he walks away after a warm encounter. When Albert realises that he is not the only one with a secret, however, he is fascinated and unable to stay away. 

 

Few Hindi directors have explored film noir as persistently as Raghavan has and made it his own. Merry Christmas’ gold-tinged world of warm lighting and shadow-rimmed frames has a furtive quality from the start. Its tone is deceptively understated as Maria and Albert go about their business on what initially seems like a routine evening for two lonely people on the town scoping each other out. Yet Raghavan builds an atmosphere aimed at keeping a viewer’s antennae on alert. 

 

The screen is filled with suggestive imagery that plays with our minds and plays on the traditions of crime fiction: a character who sculpts origami swans, speechless little Annie (Pari Maheshwari Sharma) with the innocent wide eyes, a high-ceilinged apartment in a building with an ornate cage for an elevator, an attractive trinket, a watchful giant teddy bear. Besides, Maria and Albert have an aura of sadness about them, and they’re alone in a big city on Christmas eve, a time usually spent with family and community. Something’s gotta give. Obviously. 

 

The determined refusal to pinpoint the year in which this story is set adds to its inscrutability. 

 

I enjoyed Merry Christmas’ opening hour immensely, the sense of expectation, Kaif’s sweetness, Sethupathi’s extraordinary ability to elevate even stray words and glances into moments of great humour or poignance, the empathetic gaze on Maria in this troubling era of Animals and animosity, the art design, the cinematic references, the vintage tunes complementing Pritam and Daniel B. George’s music, Maria and Albert’s lively dance, and a slimeball played deliciously by Sanjay Kapoor. It is also nice to see a normalised representation of a religious minority that is not often visible in Hindi films these days, and an acknowledgement of the diversity within the community that an earlier era of Hindi cinema restricted to Goans and Anglo-Indians. Albert’s full name is Albert Arogyasami, but he is neither a caricatured Christian nor the stereotyped ‘Madrasi’ that Hindi filmdom was once notorious for. However, after a grand deception is unmasked – I can’t say more than this – the writing and direction get lax, the unplugged holes in the deception become apparent immediately and a glaring giveaway is even allowed to linger by the perpetrator.

 

The understatedness that works in Merry Christmas’ favour through much of the narrative delivers diminishing returns from then on, culminating in a climax with limited impact. What is missing in that final stretch is a magnetic pull between the leads and an urgency in the build-up that was sorely needed for the ending to provide a release. It doesn’t help that Maria’s character remains under-explored in comparison with Albert’s, or that Kaif’s likeability is no match for Sethupathi’s casual brilliance. As a consequence, as the curtain falls, it is possible to read Albert’s motivations and emotion but Maria is still an enigma, so it cannot be said with certainty whether she is driven by anything more than desperation and gratitude. 

 

The last half hour of Merry Christmas feels as if it was left to direct and edit itself and rely on the leading man’s speaking eyes to fill any gaps at that point. 

 

The philosophy behind the film is encapsulated by Albert in this sentence: “Sometimes violence is better than sacrifice.” Ultimately, Merry Christmas suggests that violence inevitably necessitates sacrifice – by someone – but the closing is too loosely handled for the point to be compelling.

 

Merry Christmas succeeds considerably as a thriller before losing its way, but is unable to establish itself as a romance. A pity, because while the going is good, it really is damn good. 

 

Rating (out of 5 stars): 2.75   

 

Footnote: The credits walk a tightrope with a smartness that made me smile. Kaif’s name comes first in the beginning, Sethupathi’s comes first in the closing scroll, in a nod to their massive stardom in their respective industries, Hindi and Tamil, without succumbing to the gender bias that pervades all Indian film industries or ignoring concerns about Hindi belt supremacism. 

 

Running time:

144 minutes

 

Poster courtesy: IMDB 

VIDEO REVIEWS: SYERAA NARASIMHA REDDY (TELUGU) & ASURAN (TAMIL)

(These are transcripts of Anna M.M. Vetticad’s video reviews aired on Rajya Sabha TV on October 13, 2019.)

Hello everyone, today I’m reviewing two films that are complete contrasts in terms of content and storytelling style. Both are big star vehicles though.

First, Syeraa Narasimha Reddy in which Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi plays Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy who led an uprising against the British East India Company in the mid 1800s. This was before the 1857 revolt. To emphasise this point, his story is recounted here by Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi in a speech with which she hopes to inspire HER men to fight the British. 

In flashback form, Laxmibai takes us through the life of Syeraa Narasimha Reddy, one among several once-powerful rulers in the Telugu heartland who are being stripped of their power by the British. 

The common people are reeling under the back-breaking taxation policies of the British, when the hero sets out to unite his fellow rulers and the farmers against these foreigners.

Woven into the narrative is also his romance with the classical dancer Lakshmi, his relationship with his wife, song and dance routines shot on a gigantic scale, and endless action scenes. 

What is nice about Syeraa Narasimha Reddy is that it tells the story of an anti-British rebellion from southern India. The popular discourse in large parts of India tends to focus on the contributions and achievements of North Indians, not just in India’s freedom struggle but in all matters. In this context, Syeraa Narasimha Reddy is significant. But it squanders away that plus point with the WAY it tells its story.

As it turns out, the primary goal of this film is to underline Chiranjeevi’s star stature. More effort has been invested in creating a spectacle rather than in writing in-depth characters. Reddy is built up as a saintly He Man with superhuman strength and yogic powers. He is projected as SO INVINCIBLE, that his ultimate defeat seems unconvincing even though it is spelt out as a historical fact. 

To give the film scale, Chiranjeevi is surrounded by multiple major stars from Tamannaah to Nayanthara, Sudeep, Vijay Sethupathi, Amitabh Bachchan, Anushka Shetty and ... well, the list is long. Except for Tamannaah and Bachchan to some extent, the others are given short shrift by the screenplay.

This story has huge potential for social insights, but director Surender Reddy is too busy lionising Syeraa Narasimha Reddy and Chiranjeevi. Therefore the film offers us little understanding of the class and caste struggles involved. Realism and facts are not a priority in this revisionist historical drama.

As far as technical aspects go, the lavish production design and costumes are eye-catching, but the special effects are of confusing quality. Some night-time scenes are wonderfully impressive, but some scenes are surprisingly mediocre. The SFX in that long passage involving bulls, for instance, is embarrassingly tacky. 

The overall tone of the narrative is loud, rubbing every point, every message in our faces. 

For hard-core Chiranjeevi fans, perhaps there is some pay off here since their favourite star dominates the film in a role designed to overshadow all else on screen. That apart, Syeraa Narasimha Reddy is a generic, uninspiring film that lacks soul.

**** ****

Now on to writer-director Vetrimaaran’s Asuran.

From the moment he grabbed the spotlight with Aadukalam early this decade, Vetrimaaran has made his own road. With Asuran he offers a stellar redefinition of Big Cinema in the Indian context. 

There is a tendency in our country to assume that if a film revolves around caste or exploitation of any form, then it cannot take on the trappings that give mainstream Indian cinema its larger-than-life feel. With Asuran, Vetrimaaran walks a fine line to ensure that his hero is projected as a giant among men without trivialising the struggles of a marginalised community or making him appear so unconquerable that his defeats become hard to swallow. 

Dhanush plays Sivasamy whose impoverished family is engaged in a feud with a powerful land-owning family in the area. Initially, Sivasamy comes across as a pacifist. His sons are frustrated with his keenness to avoid violence. Later though, he introduces us to his defiant past and the havoc his defiance wreaked on those around him. 

Dhanush’s remarkable physical transformation is not the only indicator of the passage of time in Asuran. His is a richly detailed character that evolves too as the story runs along. Even when he metamorphoses into a roaring lion on screen, his brilliant acting, the direction and the writing ensure that he remains believable. 

Although Sivasamy is the central figure, the screenplay works hard to develop the characters of his wife Pachiammal, two sons, brother-in-law and antagonists. The excellent supporting cast does full justice to the writing. But none of the stars overshadows the film’s story or messaging. 

Malayalam superstar Manju Warrier in particular deserves to be singled out for her deeply felt, relatable performance as Pachiammal in a film that marks her Tamil debut. She is so good, that you have to wonder why even progressive filmmakers like Vetrimaaran tend to think in terms of male-centric stories. 

That said, Asuran uses a conventional genre – the male-centric action drama – to tell an unconventional story. 

It is violent, but it does not endorse violence. 

It uses episodes of loudness to take us to a point of stillness and calm. 

In short, Asuran is lovely.

**** ****

Link to the video of these reviews aired on Rajya Sabha TV:

https://youtu.be/pSOv1xEiXcw

Photographs courtesy:

(1)    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sye_Raa_Narasimha_Reddy

(2)    https://www.facebook.com/DhanushKRaja/  

VIDEO REVIEWS: SUPER DELUXE (TAMIL) & THANNEERMATHAN DINANGAL (MALAYALAM)

(These are transcripts of Anna M.M. Vetticad’s video reviews aired on Rajya Sabha TV on September 1, 2019.)

Hello and welcome to this new film review segment in Colours of India. My name is Anna M.M. Vetticad.

On this show we are celebrating the great diversity of Indian cinema. And so today, I will speak to you about the Tamil film Super Deluxe and the Malayalam film Thanneermathan Dinangal.

Super Deluxe is directed by Thiagarajan Kumararaja and has a large cast packed with stars. 

This is a film with a multi-strand narrative. Its four strands – or sub-plots if you prefer to call it that – are connected in unexpected ways.

The first strand features an unhappily married couple played by Samantha Akkineni and Fahadh Faasil. The two are trying to get rid of a corpse without being caught.

The second strand is about a little boy awaiting the return of a father who abandoned him years earlier. When the Dad finally comes home, it turns out that he is now a trans woman who goes by the name Shilpa.

Shilpa is played by Vijay Sethupathi.

The third sub-plot involves a group of teenaged boys off to watch a porn film in secret.

The fourth stars Ramya Krishnan as a woman who works in porn films.

Super Deluxe has a beautifully balanced tone. On the one hand it is extremely funny. On the other hand it is extremely sensitive while dealing with serious subjects like compatibility in marriage, the marginalisation of the LGBT+ community, sexual violence and the hypocrisy of men who want their OWN mothers to be devis though they take OTHER women lightly.

I could not relate much to the switch to fantasy towards the end of the story about the porn-watching boys, but there is SO MUCH to love in this film.

The performances in Super Deluxe are top-notch. The one that has got most attention since its release is Vijay Sethupathi playing a trans woman. Now in an ideal world, TRANS actors would play TRANS characters. Indian cinema has not yet got to that stage, with rare exceptions like last year’s Malayalam film Aabhaasam which starred the trans actor Sheetal Shyam. What we have in most of our films is MALE actors playing trans characters. Till we get to a more evolved stage in our casting, it is worth pointing out that a major male star playing a trans character seriously risks denting his ‘macho’ image in our patriarchal society. So this too is perhaps worth celebrating as a baby step forward since our society prefers to pretend that the trans community does not even exist.

One of the most moving aspects of Super Deluxe is the little boy Raasukutty’s absolutely non-judgemental response when he finds that the man who fathered him is in fact a woman.

Raasukutty is my personal hero. And his non-judgemental mother is my heroine.

Super Deluxe is now streaming on Netflix.

It is funny, it is brave, it is thought-provoking, and frankly, it is an act of social rebellion as much as it is a film.

****  ****

Thanneermathan Dinangal literally means Watermelon Days. The title comes from the large quantities of watermelon juice that the hero consumes at the food kiosk next to his school. He goes there on a regular basis to pour his heart out to his gang of friends.

Mathew Thomas plays the teenaged hero Jaison who is struggling with multiple teenaged problems. He is in love with his classmate Keerthy, played by Anaswara Rajan, who is not interested in him. He is being tormented by the school bully. He is struggling with exams. And as if life is not tough enough, a new teacher starts picking on him and him alone.

Thanneermathan Dinangal is sweet without being sugary.

The lead actors are cute without being overly cutesy.

And although it is hilarious, it does not trivialise the problems of teenagers.

In fact the beauty of this film is that it plays out so naturally that it feels as if real people allowed the filmmaker to place cameras around their homes and school to capture what is going on in their real lives.

This is a thinking comedy. In a country where we are used to commercial cinema showing men stalking women that they like and portraying that stalking as a legitimate form of courtship, Jaison and Keerthy from Thanneermathan Dinangal hold out a lesson for filmmakers. In fact one of the most striking aspects of this film is a young girl telling a young boy that she likes him BECAUSE he did not pester her when she turned down his romantic overtures.

Thanneermathan Dinangal is one of those rewarding films that is thoroughly enjoyable and also has a very important point to make.

****  ****

Link to the video of these reviews aired on Rajya Sabha TV:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZi5KLZxkLw&list=PLFC6213A60D4CBE00

A longer review of Thanneermathan Dinangal by Anna M.M. Vetticad was published on Firstpost on August 11, 2019:

https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/thanneermathan-dinangal-movie-review-franky-from-kumbalangi-gets-an-omana-padam-all-his-own-7144191.html

Photographs courtesy:

(1)    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Deluxe_(film)

(2)    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10551608/