Merry Christmas
Release Date: 24 January 2024
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: {{Ubl
Cast: {{Plainlist
Music Director: {{Ubl
Box Office: Not available
Plot Summary: {{long plot|date=January 2024}} In Bombay of the 1980s, Albert Arogyasami returns home after seven years, on Christmas Eve. Just outside his home, he is warmly welcomed by his elderly loving neighbor, who gifts him a bottle of his home-made wine [which he lovingly refers to as ''Yadhoom'']. He also informs Albert that his mother is no more, and she died peacefully some time back. After inviting him for dinner, he leaves.After surveying his long forlorn house, Albert goes to a restaurant/bar where he encounters a woman named Maria, who was supposed to be on a date with someone else. Her date had abandoned her because she had come with her mute daughter, Annie. Coincidentally, after leaving the restaurant, he meets Maria and Annie at a cinema the same night, and they connect. Maria invites him to her apartment to celebrate Christmas Eve together. Albert introduces himself as an architect who has just returned from Dubai while Maria says she owns a bakery beneath her house. On reaching her home, Albert empties his pockets and hangs a "bird in a cage" ornament that he had purchased earlier that evening onto Maria's Christmas tree. As they bond over wine and dancing, Maria reveals the problems she has with Jerome, her husband. Albert talks about Rosie, whom he had eloped to Goa with seven years ago and had passed away since. They decide to go out for a walk and Maria writes a note for her husband.When they return to the apartment, they are shocked to find Jerome lying dead on the couch, with a gun in his hand. Maria suggests calling the police, but Albert says he does not want to be involved with the police again. He reveals that he had killed Rosie and had spent the last seven years in prison and had just been released that day. His presence could lead to unnecessary suspicion and tries to wipe off all his fingerprints from whatever he has touched. He is unable to find his toy bird cage before leaving.Albert seeks solace with coffee at a stall nearby, but is surprised to see Maria walking down calmly with her child again. Intrigued, he follows Maria to midnight mass at the church. There, she pretends to faint and falls on Ronnie, a caterer. Albert intervenes to help and they soon end up at her home again, where Albert is surprised to find Jerome's body missing. When Maria goes away to put Annie to sleep, Ronnie reveals to Albert, his intentions to sleep with Maria. Albert notices that the toy bird cage is back on the tree again.Maria asks Ronnie to drive her to the church again to find her lost watch. They drop off Albert on the way and head to the church. Albert however returns to Maria's home through a backdoor staircase and is shocked to discover Jerome's body in the exact same position again. When Ronnie and Maria return, Albert hears Maria ask Ronnie to call the police and report the body. As Maria comes to see Annie in her room, she finds Albert there and asks him to leave. As Albert climbs down the backdoor stairs, he sees the police. Scared, he tries to go back to Maria's home through the backdoor but finds it locked from the inside. Hence, he proceeds to go to the upper floor where he is flabbergasted at what he sees. Ronnie asks Maria to narrate all the events to the police but leave out Albert. The police, suspicious of Ronnie, take him to the station.Maria goes to the upper floor, but is surprised to see Albert there. Albert reveals to her that he has found out that Maria had created a replica of her apartment as an alibi in the upper floor where she had taken him the first time and again the third time when he had come with Ronnie whereas the dead body was in the lower floor and she had taken him there the second time and also the final time when she came with Ronnie - thereby creating a situation as though Jerome was dead when she was away with a stranger - thus creating another alibi for her absence at the time of murder.Maria breaks down and confesses to Albert that she killed Jerome. He was suspicious of her fidelity and abused her, and he also might have been abusing Annie, which has led to her being mute. She reveals how she spiked Jerome's drinks with his own drugs and killed him with his own gun in his own hand while loud music was playing upstairs when Albert came the first time. She also reveals how she took Annie to the lower floor through the backdoor stairs to put her in the bedroom, to avoid suspicion. Albert offers to help her. They decide to destroy the replica apartment. While doing so they find Ronnie's wallet hidden in the couch. Maria suggests that they destroy it, but when Albert sees Ronnie's happy family photo in the wallet, he holds on to it and decides to return it to "Lost & Found" section in the church the next day. He also asks Maria to give the toy bird cage to Annie as a gift from Santa and leaves for his apartment.During the police interrogation, Ronnie talks about Albert and he was brought to the police station. As the postmortem report reveals it to be suicide, the police decides to let go of all the three - Ronnie, Albert, and Maria — and close the case. Just as they were about to leave, Ronnie admits that he couldn't find his wallet, which he had left at Maria's home so that he could have an excuse to come back. Ronnie puts forth a theory that a burglar might have killed Jerome and left with his wallet. Thus, the police deduces that whoever has the wallet might be the killer. Albert stands still as he knows the wallet is in his pocket. As everyone is about to leave, Annie reveals to the police that the bird cage was given to her by her "Santa" and points her finger at Albert - and speaks out the word "Santa". Everyone are glad that the child has started to speak again. But the police officials look at Maria with suspicion.At this point, Albert knows that Annie would be left orphaned if Maria goes to jail. Albert quietly takes out Ronnie's wallet and hands it over to the police, implying that he stole the wallet. Albert takes out a diamond ring he carried around since the time he wanted to propose to Rosie, and proceeds to hand it over to Maria, implying that he stole that too. Maria realizes that he is turning himself in for the murder to save her. She tearfully implies that she is willing to marry him. Albert puts the ring on Maria's finger and turns himself in.
Music Director: {{Ubl
Box Office: Not available
Film Review: Coming Soon
