Sriram Raghavan breaks silence on comparison between Merry Christmas and Andhadhun: 'This pace was required'

Sriram Raghavan’s Merry Christmas featuring Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi largely opened to positive reviews. However, there is a section of people who found the climax underwhelming while drawing comparisons with Raghavan’s last release Andhadhun(2018). Unlike Ayushmann Khurrana and Tabu starrer, Merry Christmas slowly sets the mood of the audience and Raghavan said that it has to be a slow-burn.

Talking about the film’s response, Raghavan 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 told Indian Express. Merry Christmas follows the events of Christmas Eve when two strangers discover each other and their romantic encounter turns into a nightmare.

Also read: Merry Christmas Box Office Day 5: Katrina Kaif-Vijay Sethupathi's film's steady run sees a slight drop 

Further, Raghavan added that Merry Christmas had to be a theatrical film where the audience wouldn’t get distracted. “At home if you watch this on OTT, you may stop in 5 minutes, and may not come back again. But in a hall since you have invested your time and money, maybe people will grant me a few more minutes to set up the mood. 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,” he added.

Also read: Vicky Kaushal reviews Merry Christmas as wife Katrina Kaif’s best work; lauds Vijay Sethupathi’s ‘childlike innocence'

Meanwhile, Merry Christmas was shot both in Hindi and Tamil with different supporting casts. The film has Sanjay Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Pratima Kannan, and Tinnu Anand in its Hindi version. Radhika Sarathkumar, Shanmugaraja, Kevin Jay Babu, and Rajesh Williams feature in the Tamil version. Radhika Apte and Ashwini Kalsekar have made special cameos in both versions. Backed by Tips Films and Matchbox Pictures, the film is reportedly based on Frédéric Dard's French novel Le Monte-charge (Bird in a Cage) and was released on January 12, 2024 in theatres.