Merry Christmas

I wouldn't say Merry Christmas is predictable but if you're extremely alert, follow the cues and pick nuances, there are quite a few easy giveaways about the big reveal. Also, don't expect an overtly mind-boggling climax. It's out-of-the-box, yes. Or rather experimental, but it underwhelms. I expected more there. Not that it needed to be explanatory but something was amiss.

That post-interval slump is a thing, but it isn’t a deal-breaker. Because very soon after they fall into step, walking through the streets, exchanging kindling glances, building confidences, we are willing for all good things to happen to these two, who’ve had a rough time up until now in their search for love. They make for an unlikely pair, but they make it work, getting past the few bumps: Katrina Kaif, who has always hinted (remember her in ‘Zero’?) that she can be an actor underneath all that pancake and bump-and-grind, makes us believe in her Maria, with her red lips and seductive change of dress: is she as innocent as she makes herself out to be? And Vijay Sethupati’s Albert is just flat-out terrific, perfectly balancing yearning-and-caring in the way he responds to the lovely Maria, jiving and swaying, and holding us close.

I was prepared to be marvelled by Merry Christmas but to be moved to the extent I was at the end of its mesmerising 144 minutes? That I did not anticipate. Much is said about the oddball casting, but Vijay Sethupathi and Katrina Kaif's instant chemistry dispels any incongruity of contrasts. They are such an effortless fit and convey more mood and magnetism in their peculiar Hindi accent than many so-called pairs. From Biblical conversations to relationship woes to a silent understanding of their pain and philosophy, their characters -- a grieving son and a gloomy mother -- engage at numerous levels and reveal layers of angst and anger concealed under their soft spoken persona. Dance or destruction, their spontaneity is irresistible.