Madras Cafe

Madras Cafe is an Indian political thriller set in the backdrop of the Sri Lankan civil war and assassination of the former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The subject matter of the film is one which has not been dealt with in the past and thus gives us an insight into the sensitive political ties that we share with our "other" neighbour (besides Pakistan). It depicts the story of Sri Lankan war and the tension that arose from this conflict, which many young viewers would not have known. The story is well directed and superbly narrated. The movie does not take much time to get on with the story and starts to unfold right from the word ‘go’. This is race against time. This is a smart movie and leaves you engaged throughout.

The movie is set in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Vikram Singh (John Abraham) is an Indian Army Officer who is selected for a covert mission in Jaffna. He is sent to Sri Lanka to fight LTF militants who call themselves revolutionaries. The situation gets intense and every strategy of the Indian Peace force, that has been sent to resolve the pressing matters, seems to backfire. As things proceed Vikram finds himself embroiled in a conspiracy. He realises that there is something wrong within the team and all details are being leaked to LTF. During his mission he meets a British war journalist Jaya Sahni (Nargis Fakri) who wants to cover the war and uncover the truth behind the on-going war. She helps Vikram with some information that changes the course of his mission. But before he can act on it, he is kidnapped. Why has Vikram been kidnapped and who is behind the information leaks?

Performances are impressive. John Abraham justifies his role and is commendable. The fear, tension and the situations faced by the protagonist look real. This time I feel Nargis Fakri has been given a role that suits her best. She is best suited as British journalist. It was also a welcome change to see the veteran quiz master Siddharth Basu and ad man Piyush Pandey in important roles. They played their part well and looked real while dealing with the crisis as RAW Chief and Cabinet Secretary respectively. Overall performances are good. There is not a dull moment in the movie. There is only one aspect that is unclear…. It does not explain clearly why John Abraham is secluded and lives in oblivion. Or the reason behind his apathy and his confession in the church. I would certainly recommend this movie as a must watch and as money well spent. Surely to be watched in theatres.

From now on I will be rating movies basis the factors such as story/plot, performances, entertainment quotient and length of the movie. Keeping these factors in mind, I would rate the movie 4.5/5

Nidhi