- Film : Madras Cafe
- Producer : John Abraham and Viacom 18 Motion Pictures
- Director : Shoojit Sircar
- Star Cast : John Abraham, Nargis Fakhri, Rashi Khanna...
- Music Director : Shantanu Moitra
3.5
Gritty, sombre, and explosive political thrillers aren't really among Bollywood's strengths. So when a hard-hitting, fast-paced and riveting espionage thriller like “Madras Cafe” hits the screens, it certainly singles out as an unqualified triumph. Blending facts with fiction with aplomb, Shoojit Sircar's largely understated “Madras Cafe” smacks down all the run-of-the-mill militaristic machismo and genuinely captures the unexplored genre of political drama in Hindi cinema. Certainly one of the finest thrillers to be ever made!
What a brave feat for the makers — Shoojit Sircar and John Abraham — to explore an unchartered cinematic territory with this film that is devoid of any over-the-top Bollywood cliches and commercialism, unlike their previous outing together “Vicky Donor”. The movie, apparently blows the lid off the actual Lankan ethnic strife, which many of us were too young to know or react to, then. The political drama underscores India's ambiguous role in the war, inching sensitively without taking sides, and bringing to light the conspiracies and compulsions that plagued it. It's edgy and disturbing at the same time — a rare combo for Bollywood potboilers. The movie certainly deserves laurels for rhonesty of intent and holding its own. To quote a critic, “Madras Cafe deserves an audience.”
Other Ratings
3.5Sify
4 Cinema is a powerful...
This is the best political thriller that Bollywood has so far given us
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Deccan
2.5 it’s informative... -
The Times of India
3.5 Madras Cafe dives... -
BharatStudent
3.5 A thriller tale... -
Rediff
3.5 Once in war zone...
Story :
The brave plot orbs around a conspiracy that connects the assassination of a pacifist ex-Prime Minister to the dirtywork of giant corporations and foreign agencies, who are out to undercut the subcontinent.
Major Vikram Singh (John Abraham), an Indian Intelligence agent is sent on a undercover mission to Sri Lanka. As he kick-starts his operation of disrupting a rebel group, he makes an alarming discovery: a conspiracy to assassinate the former Indian Prime Minister.
Once in the territory, he joins hands with colleague Bala (Prakash Belawadi) to get Anna Bhaskaran (Rathnam), head of the rebel LTF group and make him come to a peaceful resolution. Vikram knows Anna will be a huge challenge - what surprises him is how many others he must face.
The first half of the movie is neatly layered into complex trails - leaks, foreign interests, domestic rivals – the stumps Vikram. As RAW honcho Robin Dutt (Siddharth Basu) exerts pressure, Vikram moves fast through sultry, dangerous airs. His foreign journalist friend Jaya (Fakhri, apparently playing real-life journalist Anita Pratap, who first interviewed LTTE chief Prabhakaran) knows this conflict's heart even better than Vikram, who assist him in making some spine-chilling discoveries.
What follows next is Vikram’s brush with gun-toting ultraists who deem themselves as revolutionaries and hatching a dangerous conspiracy to kill an important Indian leader with a human bomb.
Analysis :
Somnath Dey and Shubendu Bhattacharya riveting screenplay laced with Juhi Chaturvedi’s gripping dialogues builds-up and lays out a complex network of inquiry, motives and ideology.
The political drama moves at a breakneck pace post interval. Chandrashekhar Prajapat's crisp editing unravel the episodes with fascinating ease. The background score by Shantanu Moitra enhances the sublimity of the movie.
The best thing about the film is that even when characters suffers personal blows, Madras Café doesn’t halt for melodrama. The no-song-and-dnace movie is gorgeously shot (Kamaljeet Negi).
Performance :
John Abraham comes up trumps with “Madras Cafe”. Cast against type, the actor pitches all his strength in giving life and honesty to his character of an undercover espionage who loses more than he gains in the line of duty.
Nargis Fakhri, playing a journo, bags yet another stellar role with the movie, and quite surprisingly, takes long strides as an actor here.
Debutante Rashi Khanna makes an impact in her short but significant role as the army man’s betterhalf. Although, she doesn’t get a chance to flex her potential as John Abraham’s young wife unlike Nargis here.
The rest of the characters – secret agents, commandos, extremists, and bureaucrats – play identifiable figures and complete the canvas.
Final Word:This credible and convincing movie is a must-watch because it offers you a neutral insight into an exceptionally pertinent episode of history. If you like typical Hindi masala movie, over-the-top action and melodrama, “Madras Cafe” is not for you. Try not to miss it if you like sensible cinema!
Madras Cafe Releases on 23th Aug 2013
(AW:Suchorita Dutta)
