Madras Cafe

*ing : John Abraham, Nargis Fakhri, Rashi Khanna
Director : Shoojit Sircar


Tagline : Intercept the truth

It's never easy to make and release a historic fictional movie in India where the majority of the audience spends money to watch dim-witted and romantic movies. The director and the actors have to be very competent and proficient to portray some historical events.Many Indians today are oblivious to the events and the reasons that ended up in the assassination of our former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi but Madras Cafe has successfully thrown some light on this tragedy that is seldom heard of.

Major Vikram Singh, played by John Abraham is appointed by the RAW to handle the covert operations of the Indian Military at Jaffna and resolve the ongoing crisis created by the LTF resulting in genocide of the innocent people. The story is built upon the political tension that kept the Indian Ministry involved intensely to establish peace in Jaffna during the civil war. What we see in Madras Cafe is totally gripping- when Vikram Singh and Jaya, a foreign journalist exchange some significant and confidential information about the LTF and the leak in the Indian intelligence agency that actually results in a total transformation in the set of international events.

John Abraham has acted exceptionally well in the character- who tries his best to embark upon the precarious struggle going on in Sri Lanka. The movie moves very swiftly and the audience is engrossed for the entire duration of the movie. The cinematography is noteworthy and it is a well-scripted political suspense. For a story we already know, Madras Cafe is one of those that excels at creating a thriller, in a breath-taking manner.

Madras Cafe definitely elevates John both as an actor and a director to a higher level. Shoojit Sircar hits the right strides and blends facts and fiction terrifically. The writers had done their research well. Debutante Rashi Khanna makes an impact in a brief but significant appearance as the army man's wife.

Madras Cafe is a must watch for all those who want to know about the history behind the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, the LTTE etc. In two hours. It's effective and grim unlike the ludicrous drama and item numbers that incite cheers in the theater. It's definitely a brave move on the part of the director to come with such a movie and Madras Cafe is certainly a trend setter.

Rating :
*** & 1/2