Farzi, Jawan, Merry Christmas: Looking at the remarkable restrain of Vijay Sethupathi

Vijay Sethupathi has had a terrific run at the movies and even on OTT off late. It began with the 2022 blockbuster Vikram, where his entry shot could be the money shot of the potboiler. He’s shirtless in that moment, you’re immediately repulsed by the sight of this filthy character, but can’t stop cheering for him too. And playing the antagonist there is something Sethupathi can be seen truly enjoying. He’s having his cake and eating it too.

Then comes the OTT boomer _Farzi_, by Raj and DK. Here, he stands by the law and abides by it too. He plays a good man but not without some humor and moments of amusement. Because the creators are Raj and DK, there can’t be any story without some marveling twists and idiosyncrasies. The man means business even when he barely raises his voice.

In _Jawan_, he turned against the law again. His face off against Shah Rukh Khan was more verbal than violent, and the man knows how to speak and make us chuckle. Even when he commits the most sinful of crimes, a part of us can’t stop but enjoy what he does on celluloid. Ditto for Jawan. A scene where he comes to meet Deepika Padukone in jail was followed by a collective laugh in a packed cinema hall, only because of the way he delivered those lines and performed in that otherwise intense atmosphere. Only if he had some more memorable moments with SRK.

And now, with the recent _Merry Christmas_, he takes on the role of a lonely man named Albert. He has killed his girlfriend because she refused to marry him. He now finds himself drawn towards Maria, another lonely and single mother who has killed her husband. So the story is about two killers on the loose from the law.

It’s hard to describe Sriram Raghavan’s film, it can be both a romantic film and a whodunnit. Because everything is fair in war, and yes love. Now on to Sethupathi’s next.