A marriage ring in a mixer filled with molagapodi; a Christmas decoration of a caged chicken, bought on a whim; aflame origami swans floating within the air — there’s a deliberation to the imagery in Sriram Raghavan’s newest movie, a justification for each factor within the mise-en-scène. His hauntingly romantic thriller Merry Christmas, is a movie by a cinephile, for a cinephile. Set in a time “When Mumbai was often known as Bombay”, it is filled with easter eggs and pop-culture references that embolden the themes of the movie, and add a layer to our viewing expertise. Right here’s a round-up of all of the references we keep in mind from our viewing of the movie. (There are gentle spoilers, so tread rigorously.)
John Lennon’s ‘Glad Xmas’
One of many opening frames of Merry Christmas encompasses a lyric from John Lennon’s 1971 tune “Glad Xmas (Battle is Over)”, which was in protest of the Vietnam Battle, and mirrored Lennon’s need for hope and peace. “So that is Christmas; And what have you ever achieved?” he asks, a pointed introspection introduced on by the vacation season and the appearance of a model new yr. It’s a name to motion for folks to take accountability for his or her actions, and do their half to make the world a happier place.
A Salute to Shakti Samanta
Merry Christmas pays tribute to legendary filmmaker Shakti Samanta, finest identified for movies like Howrah Bridge (1958), Aradhana (1969) and Amar Prem (1972). We see Asha Parekh screaming — an iconic second from Samanta’s Kati Patang (1971), the place a lady pretends to be somebody she’s not.
Eric Rohmer and Thiyagarajan Kumararaja
The acknowledgments originally of the movie point out French director Eric Rohmer, one of many editors of the extremely influential movie journal Cahiers du Cinema. A tongue-in-cheek credit score can be given to Tamil director Thiyagarajan Kumararaja, whose final outing was the acclaimed Tremendous Deluxe (2019), additionally starring Vijay Sethupathi.
A Thomas Fuller Poem
Within the first jiffy of the movie, Albert (Vijay Sethupathi) reads his fortune ticket, the type that slides out of the big, coin-operated weighing machines at Indian railway stations. “The night time is darkest earlier than the daybreak,” says the ticket, underneath a picture of Rajesh Khanna. The phrase — which signifies that one’s state of affairs all the time feels bleakest proper earlier than it’s about to get higher, an encouragement to have hope within the darkest of occasions — might be traced again to a 1650 poem by Thomas Fuller. Additionally it is a quote by Harvey Dent in The Darkish Knight (2008), the place it’s adopted by “And I promise you, the daybreak is coming.”
Pinocchio and Hitchcock at Regal Cinema
Our enigmatic protagonists cross paths once more at Colaba’s Regal Cinema, all lit up for Christmas. The movie they occur to observe is The Adventures of Pinocchio. Exterior the theatre, Albert jokingly tells Maria (Katrina Kaif) that he typically checked his nostril when mendacity as a child, for concern that it might elongate identical to the fictional wood puppet. Let’s simply say that if this was an actual phenomenon, each our predominant characters’ noses can be a foot lengthy by the top of the movie. Additionally exhibiting on the cinema is Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940), a movie that, like Merry Christmas, is a scrumptious mix of romance, thriller and homicide. Sriram Raghavan, who’s a fan of Hitchcock, has spoken in size about how the “Grasp of Suspense” has influenced his personal filmmaking.
Extra Hitchcock, a Blade Runner Connection
The motif of birds (which can be the identify of the 1963 Hitchcock movie) is current all through the movie. A Christmas decoration — a twittering chicken in a cage — that Albert purchases is significant to the plot in a couple of second. Albert additionally has a behavior of making origami swans, that are used to make needs in addition to go away secret messages over the course of Merry Christmas. His behavior could possibly be an homage to E. Gaff, the police officer in Blade Runner (1982), who additionally had an affinity for creating origami figures that find yourself enjoying a significant position within the movie. Imprisonment or freedom — being caged or flying free — is a key theme that Merry Christmas grapples with.
A Nod to Raymond Chandler
When Maria invitations Albert over to her home for a nightcap, we see that her front room is meticulously furnished with trinkets that Albert surreptitiously fingers by means of when she’s in one other room. Maria additionally has a formidable assortment of homicide mysteries, together with one by detective fiction author Raymond Chandler.
Edvard Grieg, Vivaldi’s Classical Music
Maria’s front room additionally has a vinyl file of the 1969 Western Mackenna’s Gold. “In The Corridor of the Mountain King” by Edvard Grieg performs at a pivotal second within the movie. After a comfortable, playful begin, the tune builds to a chaotic crescendo, echoing the narrative rhythm of that particular scene. “Winter” from Vivaldi’s The 4 Seasons options within the movie’s climax, probably alluding to chilly futures and an ending that marks a brand new starting.
“Dil Diya Dard Liya”
In a transferring dialog with Maria, Albert describes his life utilizing the acronym DDDL: “Dil diya dard liya.” (Gave you my coronary heart, took away your ache) It’s a nod to the 1966 Hindi movie of the identical identify, which in flip was an adaptation of Emily Brontë’s gothic romance Wuthering Heights. The darkish, tragic story is a mirror of Albert’s personal love story. Later, Albert remarks that “generally violence is best than sacrifice,” giving us a touch into his previous and paradoxically foreshadowing the story to come back.
Classic Bollywood Songs
Amidst classical piano orchestrations and atmospheric up to date ballads, the Merry Christmas rating can be peppered with previous Hindi songs at becoming moments. “Jab Andhera Hota Hai” from Raja Rani (1973) performs when a personality breaks into one other character’s home within the lifeless of the night time. We hear “Pyar Ke Mod Pe” from Parinda (1989) at one other level within the movie.
Ernst Lubitsch’s ‘The Merry Widow’
Final and maybe most noticeable is the reference to the Ernst Lubitsch movie The Merry Widow (1934). Ronnie (Sanjay Kapoor) brings up the movie in a dialog with Albert when the 2 of them discover themselves in Maria’s condominium. Later, we see a poster of the movie on a double-decker bus that slowly strikes throughout the display. The German filmmaker was identified for his exact and polished cinematic model, dubbed “The Lubitsch Contact”, influences of which may also be noticed in Raghavan’s neo-noir cinema.
With inputs from Anupama Chopra and Rahul Desai.