By: Honey Agarwal / Amit kumaR Agarwal
Andha Dhun is one of the best crime-thriller / black-comedy fusion to roll out of Indian Film Industry, the only two films that I recall from the last two-decades in it's league are Sankat City (Hindi) and Neram (Malyalam). Will the highly anticipated Merry Christmas, stand-up to this troika?
Before writing about Merry Christmas, let me confess, I am a diehard fan of Sriram Raghavan not only for giving two of my all time favs Johnny Gaddar and Andha Dhun; but also, endorsing through his films that 70's were the platinum-era of Hindi Cinema, we all are told repeatedly about the golden-era, 50's and 60's; but no one gives 70's it's due, Sriram does that in film after film!
Naturally, my expectations with Merry Christmas were very, very high!
An abused wife wants azaadi from her sadist husband. She uses an ardent admirer to help her out. Police closes in, the ardent admirer takes the fall.
This is a common plot in many novels and films, just four months back we saw this plot in Jaane Jaan where Jaideep Ahlawat perfected the act of the admirer.
Problem with Merry Christmas is, unlike Andha Dhun the pace is missing; twists and turns are there, but they are not as strong and deftly written as in Andha Dhun. The comparison with Jaane Jaan also pales Merry Christmas. All these factors result in an underwhelming film.
Frankly, as an audience you ought to root for Vijay Sethupathi's character, but you don't. Though, Katrina Kaif has done a good job, but that is not enough. The factors mentioned above will definitely restrain the film from scoring even half of the Andha Dhun numbers.
In the end my list of Sriram's films is rated below:
1. Johnny Gaddar and Andha Dhun
2. Ek Hasina Thi
3. Badlapur
4. Merry Christmas
5. Agent Vinod
If you take the cue, Merry Viewing!