[Movie Review] Madras Café: A Worthy factual Fiction

[Movie Review] Madras Café: A Worthy factual Fiction

Madras Café, directed by Shoojit Sircar runs with a backdrop of Sri Lanka Civil War in a *fictional* way. This political espionage thriller encapsulates the political interference of India, the struggle with LTF (which closely relates to LTTE), fight of R&AW (intelligence wing of India) with its own creeps and involvement of foreign corporate opportunists to intervene the situation for profit motives.

 

[Movie Review] Madras Café: A Worthy factual Fiction

Cast: John Abraham, Nargis Fakhri, Siddharth Basu, Prakash Belawadi, Ajay Rathnam Director: Shoojit Sircar Genre: Political, espionage Thriller Rating: 4/5


Madras Café, directed by Shoojit Sircar runs with a backdrop of Sri Lanka Civil War in a *fictional* way. This political espionage thriller encapsulates the political interference of India, the struggle with LTF (which closely relates to LTTE), fight of R&AW (Research and Analysis Wing) with its own internal ‘leaks’ and involvement of foreign corporate opportunists to intervene the situation for profit motives.

Produced by John Abraham, Madras Café is no typical Indian Movie serving masala and songs to hinder the flow. This is a serious presentation trying to portray the condition which was faced because of factual events of the past.

As John himself has quoted in an interview with media – This is not a good or a bad film, but it’s a film that everyone should see. Madras Café cleverly tries to brief the sequence of events that took place in late 1980s, while showcasing the effect and struggle of both Sri Lankan and Indian Side.

As for the plot, movie is a flashback tale told by Vikram Singh (Indian Army Officer played by John Abraham) to a church priest. Story pretty much revolves around Jaffna (in northern Sri Lanka) in the first half and informs the audience about the struggle of Indian troop in Sri Lanka to mum the LTF and their leader Anna Bhaskaran (Ajay Rathanam).

The first part shapes up with Vikram’s quest to grip the internal leak in intelligence and to dig knowledge about the foreign involvement in a civil war situation. This requires full attention from audience, as the rapid set of events may leave one blurry over some details showcased. The second half is a ‘paced’ one, where Vikram gets close in nabbing the ‘leaky’ one, while losing his beloved wife. The character of Vikram bounces back from the loss to solve the quest and later try to obstruct one of the missions of LTF.

Nargis Fakhri playing a British War Correspondent along with other characters proves their casting apt. The soundtrack is used wisely and the movie is brilliantly shot. There are scenes of violence and bloodshed but are aptly captured, along with the action scenes which are not overhyped.

Madras Café doesn’t provide any solution nor raises any questions, but this movie is a worth-watch. Pre walking in the cinema hall, you should know that you are not in for a usual Indian drama, but to some sincere display of what took place in the past and how complex is a life of the one serving forces and intelligence.

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