Merry Christmas (2024 film)
The film, a Hindi-Tamil bilingual, stars Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi, alongside Ashwini Kalsekar, Luke Kenny, and Pari Maheshwari Sharma .The basic plot of the film was based on Frédéric Dard's French novel Le Monte-charge (Bird in a Cage).The film has music composed by Pritam, cinematography handled by Madhu Neelakandan and editing by Pooja Ladha Surti.He warns that his presence will make the situation worse, as the police will likely suspect that he and Maria conspired to kill Jerome.Albert now realizes what has been happening: Maria created two identical houses—one below with Jerome's dead body and one above that is clean of any crime.In a sudden turn, Albert presents Ronnie's wallet to the police, taking full responsibility for Jerome's murder.As per the film's closing credits:[7] 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 Saif Ali Khan to play the lead roles.[8] Although Khan okayed the script, he was replaced by Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi since the film required a fresh pairing.[12] Director Sriram Raghavan initially approached Saif Ali Khan for the role of Albert, since they had worked together in Ek Hasina Thi and Agent Vinod.[13][14] Producer Ramesh, while speaking to ETimes, said "Vijay suited the role perfectly so we approached him for this film.""[15] In early March 2022, Sanjay Kapoor was announced to play an important role in the Hindi version of the film.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.[39] 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".[1] 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.[40] 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.[41][42] 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."[44] 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."[45] 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".