Sriram Raghavan shared that his upcoming film Merry Christmas starring Vijay Sethupathi and Katrina Kaif is an adaptation of a novel.
Sriram Raghavan who has a knack for neo-noir thriller, has Merry Christmas up next for release. The film has already generated quite a buzz for its interesting casting- Vijay Sethupathi and Katrina Kaif. While the audience is waiting with bated breath to watch the duo share screen space for the first time, Sriram had an interesting revelation to make about his film at a recent MAMI event.
In a chat with Siddharth Roy Kapur, S. Hussain Zaidi and Somen Mishra, the ‘Andhadhun’ director shared that Merry Christmas is an adaptation of a novel. However, he didn’t divulge the name of the book and said that it’s for the audience to see in the credits.
Sriram said, “I can’t reveal the name now, but it’s in the credits. What I liked in it…well, it’s there. But one has to ensure that it should work for people who have read the book. (You have to adapt it) without disturbing the essence.”
The filmmaker admitted that while he tries to write his own script, he feels that adapting a book is far easier as the basic material is already available. He said that the kernel is strong, and the rest is his work.
Calling himself an avid reader who is also searching for stories, Raghavan revealed that he reads a lot and came across the book, which made him adapt it as Merry Christmas for the screen.
During the course of his conversation, the ace filmmaker also shared how he conceived Varun Dhawan-Nawazuddin Siddiqui starrer Badlapur and how it was different from the original book, Death’s Dark Abyss.
Sriram revealed that the book was in the form of letters being shared by two people. “It was like Nawazuddin is getting letters in jail from Varun Dhawan and he writes back. Through these letters, you get a sense of what happened,” he explained.
The director revealed that after the disastrous performance of Agent Vinod, he was trying to look for something that was pure and small. Raghavan who had just discovered online purchasing back then, has bought quite a lot of books but didn’t enjoy many.
While reading one of the novels from them, he got scared and stopped mid-way. Sriram confessed that he was liking it and hoped that it would not turn out trash. He recalled keeping that book in a drawer and penning down a few scenarios about what happens next.
“I was not happy with any one of it. I then started reading it cautiously and was getting slowly riveted. I stopped at times to predict.. it was like I was playing a game with myself. As it ended, I felt something. If I had wondered about whether an actor would take it up, what would happen next.. It’s pulling you down. That initial excitement (is gone). There was one producer who believed in it,” Sriram shared while talking about the origins of Badlapur.
Coming back to Merry Christmas, the film is slated to release on December 15, 2023.
