Sriram Raghavan On Katrina Kaif-Vijay Sethupathi Film Merry Christmas' Climax: 'A Few People Wanted...'

Director Sriram Raghahvan’s murder mystery, Merry Christmas, was released in theatres on January 12 amid much anticipation. The film is helmed by Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi, marking their first cinematic collaboration. While the film has received a largely positive response, some weren’t too happy with its climax and even compared it to Sriram’s popular film Andhadun. The filmmaker recently addressed these comparisons.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Sriram said, “Overall, this has been a very favourable response. There are some who have not taken it kindly that it is not Andhadhun! Anyway, that was not my intention. Some people hence find the pace ‘slow’ in the beginning. But for me, this pace was required so that it all ties in the end.”

He said, “A few people who wanted, ‘Oh what the hell!’ kick, those are missing that. But this is not that kind of a film, and yet even I witnessed there were people clapping by the end of it in some cinemas that I visited! The sound of their applause is music to my ears. What else is there to ask for?”

Amid the comparisons with Andhadun, Sriram also revealed that initially, the feedback he received for the film wasn’t as positive as the response that the film received after its release. “I show my movies to a few friends to see their reactions, so that I am prepared for how the movie is going to be seen. They knew nothing about the film and were cold-watching it. A bunch of them told me, ‘Oh you know what the murder is happening too late in the film! It is around 30 minutes, which is too late. Can you bring it around the 5-minute mark?’ I was like, ‘No! This is not that movie.’ Here, I got emboldened and wanted to push it a bit. But I am really happy,” he said.

As for Merry Christmas, the film also stars Sanjay Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Pratima Kannan, Tinnu Anand, Radhika Sarathkumar, Shanmugaraja, Kevin Jay Babu, Rajesh Williams and Pari in key roles. Ashwini Kalsekar and Radhika Apte have also made cameos in the film. Merry Christmas is produced by Ramesh Taurani, Jaya Taurani, Sanjay Routray and Kewal Garg.