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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Katrina Kaif elated about response to Merry Chritsmas: ‘Means a lot on emotional level’
Sriram Raghavan’s Merry Christmas starring Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi has opened to positive reviews.
Katrina Kaif has received a lot of love for her performance in Sriram Raghavan’s recently released romantic thriller, Merry Christmas. Now, in an exclusive conversation with Pinkvilla, the actress opens up about the appreciation coming her way, working with the master storyteller, and on the possibility of a sequel.
Merry Christmas has received a lot of positive feedback, and I believe every success brings something along with it. Some bring newer perspectives, some bring opportunities, and some bring validation. What does the success of Merry Christmas mean to you?
It means a lot to me on an emotional level, as there was a certain risk element involved with this film. Even though I try not to see decisions like that, I feel there's just a lot of happiness and a peaceful feeling that the film has landed, and has resonated with people who have seen the film and those who have reviewed it. I think what is important is an incredible story like this, which I wanted to be a part of as an actor and as a performer. I found the material extremely interesting and challenging, and I think at this point of my life, I'm able to draw on life experiences, which reflects in my work and brings more humanity to the character. Right now, I am just feeling a lot of gratitude and a lot of joy that the film has landed and has resonated with the audiences. 
You mentioned risks. What kind of risks had you foreseen for a project like Merry Christmas?
I will probably rephrase that. It is a story which is very unique, and I think Sriram sir was extremely honest to his craft, honest to the story he wanted to tell, and he absolutely saw that vision through. There were moments like, if we discussed the climax - it was earlier fully with dialogues, but later Sir said that this is the vision for the climax and he had changed the scene. I don't want to give too much away for those who haven’t seen the film yet, but you've seen it. You know what I mean. For a moment, I was stunned. I was like, ‘Are you sure?’
There was an in depth discussion that happened, we did this whole inaction of the scene, and I realized in that moment that the way he chose to execute that scene gave us so much more honesty, so much rawness and so much realness. What is that scene about? It is about a huge sacrifice, and its impact on Maria, and what that means to her - to have someone do something so amazing for her after the kind of experiences she's had in her life. Then of course the feeling of that ultimate sacrifice and the redemption for that character who's made the sacrifice, and the combination of these incredible moments just by expressions and no dialogue at all.
That was when I saw it. I could see that. I mean, this is why you know, Sriram sir is who he is, and why he's such a loved director. His ideas are so out of the box. They're so fresh and novel.
Do you remember a moment which probably was the hardest for you as an artist on the Merry Christmas set?
There is this long scene, which is about a 10 to 12 page scene. It’s a conversation between Vijay (Sethupathi) and my character (Maria), which kind of goes from a casual, frothy conversation to this intense history of broken stories. I think that was something which we really worked on to find the right tone.
The same sequence has my favorite part from the movie, which is the dance scene with you and Vijay Sethupathi. It's so real. What was the vibe on the set before you’ll actually started rolling for that sequence?
(Laughs) That dance was actually very important for Maria (her onscreen character), because it was an expression of getting out a certain energy, after something which had just happened earlier in the film. So for me it was a dance of freedom, and there was also some craziness to it. It was an expression of many things, and I knew that this is what is to be conveyed in that moment.
I remember we had discussed how we are going to do this scene, and we went through quite a few beats. We showed Sriram sir a lot of stuff, and there was a group of us who were working to bring it together. Vijay was also completely there. He was like, ‘Whatever you guys are wanting to do, I’ll fit it into the character.’ For me, that dance is just an expression of all the frustration, all the angst, all the pain, all the trapped feelings that both of them are going through for their own different reasons. At that moment, you know, it was just like, have you ever been so frustrated in your life or you just want to go to the terrace and scream, or you want to scream into a pillow? It’s just that but in a different way.
These emotions absolutely came through. One last thing. There are reports that a sequel to Merry Christmas is in the works, and we would love to see you and Sriram Raghavan collaborate once again. Are there chances of any of these two happening?
I don't know about a sequel, but I would definitely love to work with Sriram sir again, now that I have this experience, and know the way he works. It's an incredibly fulfilling and rewarding experience for an actor, and I would love to work with him again.
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