My Review of 'Madras Cafe'

Madras Café is film made by Shoojit Sircar involving the plot about Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination. The film has been portrayed as a flashback being narrated by Major Vikram Singh (John Abraham) in a church. John Abraham has played the role of a RAW agent in the film, and he is successful to a large extent.

The story starts off with John Abraham waking up in bed after a nightmare, with sweat trickling down his face, and a full grown beard. The flashback soon begins with the rise of the LTF and a brief background about the worsening condition in Sri Lanka. The enemy force under ‘Anna Bhaskaran’ who somewhat represents the leader of the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), Velupillia Prabhakaran.

Robin Dutt, one of the front faces of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) calls on Major Vikram Singh, who has to go to the epicenter of these events- Jaffna. On the way to the place, the young officer meets Jaya Sahni (played by Nargis Fakhri) who is a press correspondent. Her part comes into play several times in the film, and it can be said that she has done a good job in whatever she has done.

The film progresses with several hitches and backfiring plots, till a point where Ruby Singh, the wife of the Major, is killed. This is the turning point of the film, and then begins all of the fast-paced action.

Going under the direct command of Siddharth Basu (Robin Dutt), John Abraham plunges knee deep into the scenario and starts wading through all that happened with him in the past (a blown arms deal, and other plans which have backfired). Blasting past his senior in Sri Lanka, John soon exposes him with a tape of an intercepted conversation and various transfers and photographs. The flashback ends after the assassination of ex-President Rajiv Gandhi during a rally in South India.

On the whole, the film is adrenaline pumping and rushes at a fast pace, especially in the second half. The absence of songs has been a good idea, as the background music by Shantanu Moitra does extremely well. The script is good as well, and dialogues in Tamil have been displayed on the screen in form of Hindi subtitles.

I did feel at some point that John Abraham should have had a more aggressive approach and a more muscular body which would have been characteristic of an agent in enemy territory. But this small point gets easily misplaced in the thick plot and fast action of the film.

If you are a fanatic for fast paced flicks involving spies and old plots, then this is a must watch for you.

PS: I did hear that this film is being made Tax-free.

My other reviews: Bhaag Milkha Bhaag & Attacks of 26/11

For more reviews on this film please visit Rediff.com and Deccan Chronicle