Explainer: 'Merry Christmas's source novel, different endings, other similar examples
Six long years after the sensational acclaim of Andhadhun (2018), auteur Sriram Raghavan is set to return to the silver screen with Merry Christmas—filmed simultaneously in Hindi and Tamil. Headlined by actors on the opposite end of the spectrum, Vijay Sethupathi and Katrina Kaif, its two trailers puzzled viewers and raised eyebrows. What's going to happen? How is the story woven together? Find out.
Each version will have a different ending
In a media interaction, Raghavan acknowledged that the film will have two endings and is based on a novel, though he was smart to not give away the title of the book. Once the trailers were out, however, several cinema lovers put their gray matters to use and found out that MC reportedly draws its story from a 1960s Frech novel.
Know more about 'Bird in a Cage'
Raghavan's story is allegedly based on Frédéric Dard's Bird in a Cage. Goodreads's synopsis reads, "Trouble is the last thing Albert needs. Traveling back to his childhood home on Christmas Eve to mourn his mother's death, he finds the loneliness and nostalgia of his Parisian quartier unbearable...until, that evening, he encounters a beautiful, seemingly innocent woman at a brasserie, and his spirits are lifted."
This is what happens in the story
Spoilers ahead. In this thriller noir novel, Albert, the protagonist visits his hometown after years to seek some solace after his mother's death. At an eatery, he chances upon an attractive woman and her young daughter and gets swooped up in an overnight adventure with her on Christmas Eve. However, there's more than what meets the eye and she isn't who she seems.
How do the characters fit?
She commits a heinous crime and has a well-thought-out plan to fool the law. To this end, she needs the help of Albert and another man she meets after Albert; from the beginning, Albert senses there's something wicked at play. Eventually, she explains exactly how she evaded the law—something that can be represented in different ways onscreen (the book's ending and Raghavan's ending).
Raghavan on the two versions
The director earlier said, "There is a Hindi film, featuring Sethupathi, Kaif, and a child. And there is a Tamil film with the same [leads], the child, and different actors." "I wanted to make a Tamil film as Vijay is a well-acclaimed actor in the South. I thought it would be good to have two versions to avoid it looking like a dubbed film."
Has this ever happened before?
Yes, many times! It's not uncommon for films to have different endings and this is the entire cornerstone of interactive films such as Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and Choose Love. Some other examples include Unfriended: Dark Web, The Descent, 1408, Brazil, Fatal Attraction, The Sound of Music, and Once Upon a Time in America. In India, however, this is a rare and recent phenomenon.
