Merry Christmas2024

There are not many Indian directors like Sriram who could stage a thriller in a way it subverts the genre at certain well timed intervals yet overall tone is maintained throughout. How beautifully the film is set up in the first half just to enter into a familiar yet obscure world of Sriram in the second half and even if first major reveal won’t shock as intended still Sriram doesn’t stop there and masterfully executed that stunning final act which is still ringing in my ears (the whole heart thumping orchestra in the background), without any dialogues, slowly unravelling everything and then Sriram kinda drops his mic with that brilliant final shot and THE END. It’s still Jan but this is my CLIMAX OF THE YEAR so far. Thats why Sriram is special. Man rarely disappoints. This is more of a love story and everything else comes next.  From Pritam’s gorgeous tunes to editing to Daniel’s BGM to framing of Scenes (Lighting) to Sethupathi’s endearing performance and finally to Katrina’s best performance of her career - there’s so much to love here.  This might be a smaller cinematic treasure from Sriram but it’s still a precious one that any movie lover would love to think about and dissect.