Movie review: Madras Cafe

Madras Cafe

Cast: John Abraham, Nargis Fakhri, Leena Maria, Rashi Khanna, Ajay Ratnam, Siddhartha Basu

Direction: Shoojit Sircar

Rating: 

The politics of war is a tough deal to tackle on screen. You could go hyper on jingoism and rake in the moolah as so many mainstream films have done so often. Or, you could try catering realistic, riveting fare but that will always leave nagging doubts at the box-office.

Madras Cafe represents more than good entertainment, in this context. The fact that it takes the second route and gets a solo release in Bollywood this week proves there is a ready audience now - specifically in the urban multiplexes - for films that enthral and inform at the same time. This box-office dynamic is in stark contrast to the time when director Shoojit Sircar made his debut with Yahaan in 2005. That film laying bare terrorism-ravaged Kashmir belonged to the same genre as Madras Cafe. But back then it went unnoticed despite its quality.

Madras Cafe is a thriller about Sri Lanka in the time of civil war, and how that sordid chapter and its socio-political aftermath led to the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. There is a point worth note here. Despite being brave enough to showcase a sensitive slice of history, new Bollywood still does not reveal the courage to take real names. So a twist in imagination makes Rajiv Gandhi into a figure perennially referred to as "ex-PM" in the film. LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) becomes LTF and the militant group's formidable leader Prabhakaran is named Anna (incidentally, Prabhakaran was called Anna by his people).

In a nation where protest groups are forever hungering for mischief (the film has already drawn wrath in Tamil Nadu over the Anna/LTF portrayal), one understands we are still some way off from making direct references as, say, Body Of Lies or Green Zone (you do spot stylistic influences of both these films though Madras Cafe tells an original story).

In his best performance yet, John Abraham puts up a restrained act as Vikram Singh, armyman on a covert RAW mission in Sri Lanka. His probe, as well as interactions with a British war correspondent Jaya (Nargis Fakhri, mercifully getting English dialogues all through), tells him there is a sinister plan aimed at India beneath the rebel activity. Only too late does Vikram realise it could have to do with an attack on the ex-PM.

Madras Cafe cocktails its political narrative with superbly scripted suspense. The film is not strictly about war. Rather, the screenplay (Somnath Dey and Shubendu Bhattacharya) creates an engaging spy thriller with its focus on the grime behind intelligence ops and the societal implications of rebellion. If Sircar cannot resist a comment or two, it is served very quietly, smartly.

The film tells a story we already knew. Yet it scores because of the way Sircar maintains intrigue, teasing viewers with regular twists.

Irresistible stuff if you love brain work in your movies.

Also Read: Madras Cafe a Controversial film and banned in Tamil Nadu