Madras Cafe review

Recently, John Abraham has chosen films that do appear quite strange choices...however it does show that he has quite wide range of acting ability. Films like Force, I.Me Aur Main and Shootout At Wadala....all films you would not associate with the "Chocolate-boy" reputation he has in the film industry. Madras Cafe is another one of these amazing roles that Abraham has been lucky to have.

John Abraham (Major Vikram Singh) nailed his role, though some people may argue he is quite emotionless...but I think he has exactly the right amount of feeling in the way he portrays this undercover R&AW agent. Nargis Fakhri acted well...not brilliant, even though her role was a small one. Nargis looks comfortable in this role and acts a million times better than she did in her previous Bollywood outing "Rockstar". She speaks English throughout the film, which is understandable but the fact that John Abraham replies in Hindi, just seems quite inconsistent and does slightly derail the conversation between the two. Rashi Khanna (Abraham's wife in the movie) played the character of Ruby Singh extremely well. The "spat" the couple has in the film is just priceless and brilliant. That scene literally moved me on an emotional level. Siddharth Basu was excellent...his voice just gave a calmness into every scene that he was in, however the rest of the supporting cast lacked a bit of style and reality in their speaking manner.

The film is based on true events that took place in the 80's/90's in Sri Lanka and an attempt at explaining how and why certain events transpired. Although, the film is full of propaganda....it is brilliantly shot and directed by Shoojit Sircar.
One slightly disappointing point would be that the film feels like it goes on for years...not saying it's boring...but it just drags on 20 minutes more than it should have. That feels like eternity!

SPOILER ALERT!

The film begins with a disclaimer that it is a work of fiction. Names have been changed but the events of Madras Café are clearly based in the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, which ultimately led to the assassination of Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. "Here, the plot moves inexorably towards the assassination of a former prime minister. Major Vikram is an intelligence officer with the Indian army enlisted in a covert operation to broker peace in the war-torn country. The film cuts rapidly between New Delhi, London, Bangkok and Kerala." (Anupama Chopra's review)

Madras Café works as an effective portrait of the futility of war. Shoojit and his writers, Shubhendu Bhattacharya and Somnath Dey, ably illustrate why there are no winners here. "Ideologies are marred by corruption and brutality. Death is inevitable and victories, pyrrhic."
A special mention here of John Abraham, who stretches himself as both actor and producer. He does a commendable job. As does Prakash Belawadi, who plays Vikram’s hard-drinking superior. And cinematographer Kamaljeet Negi, whose camera gives the film scale and heft. Shantanu Moitra’s unobtrusive music underlines the tragedy. "Sun Le Re" is actually well composed and Ali Hayat sings effortlessly.

I suggest you give this film a watch! It'll be an eye-opener for many people (even though the movie is "fictitious")

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 7/10

Direction 7/10

Story/Script 8/10
Action 7/10

Music/Soundtrack 6/10
Cinematography 8/10

I give this film 7.13/10 "7.13 out of 10"
Rating: Conspiracy....I think not! Have a look to decide for yourself!