Director Sriram Raghavan and his unique casting choices…

Apart from creating deliciously dark characters, filmmaker Sriram Raghavan’s speciality lies in presenting his actors in different roles.

For example, much before Saif Ali Khan did a negative role in Omkara (2006), he was cast in the role of a smooth charmer who wreaks havoc in the life of Urmila Matondkar’s Sarika in Ek Hasina Thi (2004).

Saif handled this role — his very first negative character — like a pro by showcasing his versatility in a big way.

In Johnny Gaddaar (2007), Sriram Raghavan trusted a complete newcomer like Neil Nitin Mukesh with a challenging role. His role of Vikram comes across as a calculating and cold person who does not hesitate to sacrifice even his friends.

Neil’s performance in Johnny Gaddaar remains his best to date.

Sriram Raghavan also tapped a different side of the veteran actor Dharmendra in this film. Dharmendra played a ring leader. Though the duration of his scenes was less, his role was well-written and enacted.

Now, I will primarily focus on Sriram Raghavan’s last three films Badlapur (2015),  Andhadhun (2018), and Merry Christmas (2024).

Interestingly, in these movies, the director has pushed his lead actors to do something different from what they have done previously.

Badlapur

Sriram Raghavan and Varun Dhawan on the sets of ‘Badlapur’. 

Sriram Raghavan and Varun Dhawan on the sets of ‘Badlapur’. (Facebook)

Before BadlapurVarun Dhawan only did romantic and comic roles; he was absolutely charming in Main Tera Hero (2014) and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014).

But with Badlapur, the actor stepped into a new zone.

The film is based on a real-life event where Varun’s character goes through many stages — physically and emotionally. Varun Dhawan played Raghu, whose life changed drastically after the death of his wife and son.

Raghu is consumed by revenge, and in the process of retribution, he does some questionable things. Even after succeeding in his mission, Raghu does not find complete peace.

In Badlapur, the viewers saw a new Varun Dhawan. The actor completely submitted to the vision of Sriram Raghavan and delivered one of his best performances so far.

Despite sharing screen space with Nawazuddin Siddiqui, there was not a moment where Varun Dhawan came across as anything less.

Andhadhun

Ayishmann Khurrana in a poster of ‘Andhadhun’. 

Ayishmann Khurrana in a poster of ‘Andhadhun’. (X)

Like Varun Dhawan, Ayushmann Khurrana also delivered a career-defining performance in Andhadhun (2018).

Ayushmann never did thrillers before, but director Sriram Raghavan trusted the actor with the role of a supposed blind pianist.

Even at the end, the viewers don’t know if he is blind. Ayushmann shared a lot of scenes with the veteran actor Tabu, but still, he more than stood his own.

Sriram Raghavan etched the character brilliantly with many shades, and Ayushmann Khurrana did complete justice to the director’s vision.

Merry Christmas

Katrina Kaif in ‘Merry Christmas’.

Lastly, you have the recent Merry Christmas starring Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi. The film does not match the brilliance of Badlapur and Andhadhun, but there is no denying Sriram Raghavan’s uniqueness in bringing two actors who belong to vastly different worlds.

Vijay Sethupati is a proven actor with a brilliant repertoire of roles as diverse as Super Deluxe (2019) and Master (2021).On the other hand, Katrina Kaif is known more for her dancing skills than her acting.

Not many directors would have thought of bringing them together but Sriram proved his penchant for taking risks.

A big USP of Merry Christmas is how Vijay Sethupati and Katrina Kaif feed off each other as two strangers in the beginning and develop a bond during a Christmas night.

They shared a wonderful chemistry, which helped the film tide over the speed bumps.

In Merry Christmas, Sriram successfully explored a different side of Katrina.

Her character goes from an alluring and vulnerable single mom to a hurt and revengeful wife. Katrina Kaif was proficient in her part managing to pull off both the shades.

Her role as Maria is a new beginning for Katrina even though the film has not done great business.

It is interesting to see Sriram Raghavan’s unique casting choices, which bring out something different from them every time. Hoping to see more such experimenting.

Merry Christmas:  A Concoction Of Darlings And Andhadhun

Sriram Raghavan’s latest doesn’t hit the high notes of his previous films but still this is an intriguing thriller

Rating 3
Starcast: Vijay Sethupathi, Katrina Kaif, Sanjay Kapoor, Ashwini Kaleskar, Vinay Pathak and others
Director and writer: Sriram Raghavan
Additional writers: Arjit Biswas, Pooja Ladha Suruti and Anukruti Pandey
Based on: Le Monte Charge by Federic Dard
Producers: Ramesh Taurani, Jaya Taurani, Sanjay Routray and Kewal Garg
Production Companies: Tips Films and Matchbox Pictures
Genre: Thriller/drama
Running time: 2 hours and 25 minutes

Sriram Raghavan has established his credits as a thriller specialist starting from his debut film Ek Hasina Thi starring Saif Ali Khan and Urmila Matondkar. Except for Agent Vinod also starring Saif Ali Khan the director has created some delicious characters and has done an excellent job in capturing the dark nature of human beings. Additionally Sriram is also known for casting actors against the type. The perfect examples of these are Varun Dhawan in Badlapur and Ayushmann Khurrana in Andhadhun.

Katrina, Vijay Sethupathi and Sriram Raghavan, the director.

The director has continued his penchant for unusual casting with Merry Christmas. Not many directors would have thought of casting Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi together in a movie. This unique casting has created anticipation for the film. For those who are not aware Merry Christmas is based on a French novel Le-Monte- Charge.

Merry Christmas starts off as a date movie between two strangers. Katrina Kaif is Maria and Vijay Sethupathi is Albert. Both of them meet on Christmas Eve and end up forming a certain connection in a short span of time. Maria is stuck in a turbulent marriage much like Alia Bhatt’s Badru in Darlings. Vijay Sethupathi’s Albert has returned to the city of Bombay after a long gap. Here it has to be mentioned that the story takes place in the 90’s before Bombay had become Mumbai.

Sriram Raghavan’s dark christman with Katrina

Both Maria and Albert have some secrets which they are hiding from each other. As the story progresses the plot turns into a murder mystery when a dead body is found on the couch of Maria, what follows is a tale of deception, death and darkness.

A big strength of Merry Christmas is the recreation of the 90’s Bombay. The viewers feel a certain sense of nostalgia. Like Johnny Gaddaar and Andhadhun there is a certain retro touch which adds to the story.

The casting of Vijay Sethupathi and Katrina Kaif has raised many eyebrows given the huge discrepancy in terms of the acting capabilities. But it has to be said they do feed off each other. Katrina Kaif’s acting does fall a little short in a key emotional sequence related to her husband however it has to be said that overall she has given a proficient performance.  Katrina has done a good job in conveying the different emotions through her body language particularly the portions where Maria has to come across as alluring. Additionally her character has also been designed well going from a gorgeous and vulnerable single mom to a hurt and revengeful wife.

All on one leaf

Vijay Sethupathi on the other hand is as brilliant as ever. He portrays the different emotions of grief, pain and others in his trademark style. The actor also leaves you in splits with the one liners.

The supporting cast comprising of Sanjay Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Ashwini Kalsekar and others also do a good job in maintaining the mystery with their impactful performances. However it has to be said the supporting characters in Badlapur and Andhadhun had a bigger impact.

Talking about twists and turns some of twists have the trademark Sriram Raghavan touch but they are not entirely satisfactory. The climax in particular is a low point. It has not got the thrill and the heft of the last scene in Andhadhun where many people had come up with different theories.

Merry Christmas does not entirely live up to the standards that Sriram Raghavan has set but for Katrina Kaif this film is a new start. Here’s hoping the actress continues to take on challenging roles like this.

Tiger 3: An Action Spectacle For Fans Of Salman And Spy Movies But This Tiger Doesn’t Pack The Same Punch As War And Pathaan

Emraan Hashmi roars the loudest with his portrayal of the menacing Aatish. Shah Rukh Khan more than makes his presence felt in an extended cameo.

Tiger 3 (Hindi)                 2.5 out of 5            

      • Starcast: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Emraan Hashmi and others; Special appearances (Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan)
      • Director: Maneesh Sharma
      • Story: Aditya Chopra
      • Screenplay: Shridhar Raghavan
      • Dialogues: Anckur Chaudhry
      • Music: Pritam
      • Production Company: Yash Raj Films
      • Genre: Action thriller/drama
      • Running time: 2 hours and 36 minutes

    In the year 2012 the spy journey of Aditya Chopra and YRF began with the Kabir Khan directorial EK Tha Tiger. It was a love story between a RAW and an ISI agent. Ek Tha Tiger was appreciated for its action and also the love story.

    The success of Ek Tha Tiger led to the creation of an entire spy universe like Tiger Zinda HaiWar and PathaanTiger 3 is the fifth film of this universe and there are more to follow.

    Maneesh Sharma the director of Tiger 3 had a huge responsibility on his shoulders as all the previous films of this franchise have gone on to become blockbusters. The director’s last film was FanFan had a gripping first half followed by a lackluster and implausible second half. Viewers could clearly see Maneesh Sharma being overwhelmed by the scale of the film and losing focus. Tiger 3 is another example of Maneesh Sharma’s inability to handle stories of large scale. Tiger 3 is not a bad film but in comparison to War and Pathaan it does fall quite short.

    Emraan Hashmi roars the loudest

    The plot of Tiger 3 focuses on one of Bollywood’s most favorite theme. That is India, Pakistan’s love hate relationship. The mission of Avinash Singh Rathore aka Tiger (Salman Khan) is to prevent a military coup and also the assassination of the Pakistani Prime Minister (Simran modeled on Benazir Bhutto). Tiger’s biggest thorn in the back is a Pakistan agent gone rogue Aatish (Emraan Hashmi).  The biggest desire of Aatish is to take over Pakistan and make sure that no kind of peace happens between both the countries.

    Katrina Kaif also reprises her role of Zee Humaimi aka Zoya from the previous two Tiger films. This time around the character of Zoya has a back-story. In this back-story the viewers get to know that Aatish was her former handler. Once upon a time she was a protégée of Aatish but in the present scenario things have changed drastically.

    Salman Khan gets into his shoes with practised ease

    A big strength of Tiger 3 is the galore of twists and turns at regular intervals. For example in the beginning the viewers are led to believe that Zoya is betraying Tiger by hiding certain information. These twists and turns do keep the viewers on their feet.

    Cinematographer Anay Goswamy also does a wonderful job in capturing the many locations of this globe trotter. These include Europe, Russia and Istanbul among others.

    The action sequences have plenty of hand to hand combats and are a definite treat for those who like to see raw action. Two action scenes deserve a particular mention. One is the climax fight between Salman and Emraan Hashmi. The other one is Katrina fighting in a towel inside a Turkish hammam or bath. Both these sequences have been brilliantly shot.

    Katrina Kaif in her towel fight scenes

    As mentioned in the beginning Emraan Hashmi shines the brightest in this cast. His demeanor and the body language are a treat to watch. Emraan plays the ruthless villain without missing a single beat. A special mention must be made of the scenes that Emraan shares with Katrina in the flashback portions.

    One of the most enjoyable portions of Tiger 3 is definitely Shah Rukh Khan’s extended cameo as Pathaan. It is a perfect mixture of action and some very witty dialogues. Viewers can clearly see that Shah Rukh is having a blast. In one of the scenes you have Shah Rukh Khan and Salman in a Sholay inspired motorcycle scene. Pathaan is in the driver’s seat and Tiger makes a joke about how the last time this vehicle was driven only one person came out alive. There is also a post credit scene involving Hrithik Roshan’s Kabir from War. The scene doesn’t last long but Hrithik’s swagger is unmissable.

    A big problem with Tiger 3 is the overtly simplistic treatment of the issues between India and Pakistan. Director Maneesh Sharma doesn’t bring anything particularly new to the Indo-Pak angle. Tiger 3 operates in a fanciful zone of two rival nations hoping to initiate peace talks and end the fear of war. But these noble intentions do not translate effectively on screen.

    Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, a camio scene

    The love story between Tiger and Zoya is in the same space as in the previous two films. There is no substantial character development in spite of Zoya’s back-story.

    Both Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif get into the shoes of their respective characters with practiced ease. As said earlier Katrina shines in the action sequences but her performance in the emotional ones leave a lot to be desired.

    Some of the supporting cast from Tiger 1 and 2 are seen in this film as well. They include Ranvir Shorey and Kumud Mishra among others but they are reduced to side dishes. Revathi as the boss takes over from the late Girish Karnad. Unfortunately the senior actress has been severely underutilized. This is sad because Dimple Kapadia in Pathaan made a terrific boss woman.

    Pritam’s music consists of only one good number and that is Ruaan. Pritam’s tune coupled with Arjit Singh’s voice makes it a good hear and watch.  

    To sum it up Tiger 3 is a step back for the spy universe but here’s hoping that War 2 and others bring it back on track.