On an eerie note, it’s heartwarming

Parbina Rashid

With as unlikely a screen pair as Vijay Sethupati and Katrina Kaif, we know we are in for an unusual story, especially when it has writer-director Sriram Raghavan at the helm of things. And this is exactly what we get — a love story where deception is as much a part as is commitment.

An adaptation of popular French writer Frederic Dard’s novel ‘Bird In A Cage’, ‘Merry Christmas’ is set in the times when Mumbai was called Bombay. That’s it. We are not given a specific timeframe. In fact, there is no need for one. Raghavan has created more of a feeling and gives us enough details to draw our own conclusion. When did we last see ‘Xerox’ written on the signboard of a shop or weighing machines giving out the number on a brown ticket with the picture of a star on the back of it? Or single screen theatres that sold pink and yellow tickets?

The setting is just right for a mystery to unfold. And so is the atmosphere. It’s Christmas Eve. The balmy evening has both the yuletide spirit and the feeling of an impending doom. And in such a setting, two lonely strangers, Albert (Sethupathi) and Maria (Kaif), meet at a restaurant. Albert wants to treat himself on the first day of his return to the city after being away for seven long years. Maria has been ditched by her date because she brought her daughter along. One thing leads to another and Albert finds himself at Maria’s tastefully decorated apartment. Not only does he discover his true self there, a man who can mingle with a stranger and break into an impromptu dance, but he also discovers a corpse. Albert beats a hasty retreat after revealing his reason for it. Enter another stranger (Sanjay Kapoor), who wants to get his chance with Maria. Two more characters follow suit: a police inspector (Vinay Pathak) and his colleague (Pratima Kazmi). All take us through twists and turns, keeping us on the edge of our seats. Well, for most of the two-hour duration.

The screenplay, which Raghavan has written, along with Arjit Biswas and Pooja Ladha Surti, keeps everything subtle — the mood, the dialogue and the pace. It does not rush us towards a conclusion. Easy and smooth, it allows us to savour the story and absorb the nostalgia that it whips up. And when it comes to whipping up nostalgia, Daniel B George’s background score and Pritam’s music do the trick. The rhythm belongs to the ‘Xerox’ era. There are songs from old Hindi movies too.

Raghavan uses enough tropes that serve as clues to the mystery — a mixer-grinder, green wallpaper, red curtains, dim lighting, Christmas tree, origami, a teddy bear, fish in the aquarium and a crystal bird in the cage. If one is on the same page as Agatha Christie or Sherlock Holmes, one would catch on the clues. I couldn’t. Not until the end! That’s because I was more invested in Sethupathy’s character, trying to find out if he was playing a character or just being himself. He is that natural.

Kaif is as brilliant. Together, they make us embrace their characters in all shades — good, bad and ugly! Albert with his charming one-liners, which he delivers with a poker face, and his ordinary persona, is simply outstanding. He speaks less and allows his body and eyes to do the talking. Kaif is a revelation. Her in-character persona — her expressions, her body language — does not get overshadowed by her beauty. And that’s refreshing. She stands up to Sethupathy on an equal footing, scene by scene, frame by frame.

Sanjay Kapoor, Tinnu Anand, Vinay Pathak, Ashwini Kalsekar and Pratima Kazmi have small roles, but enrich the story in their own way. Not to forget Radhika Apte, who makes an impact even in a blink-and-miss role.

The climax, which plays out at a police station and ends in a tear-drop and a melancholic smile, is unpredictable and touching. It leaves us with warmth — for the story, for the characters, for the actors and for the director.

Now that this engrossing film has ushered in the New Year on a beautiful note, hopefully more filmmakers would follow suit and relieve us from those bombastic characters that created ‘gadar’ in the year gone by!