Guest Review-
Madras Café (2013)
AG Rating : 100
Plot one liner:
Set in the 1980s , 'Madras Café ' is an intelligent political thriller that tells the story of an assassination which has never ever been told before in any cinema.
The AG analysis:
First off, the makers of this film need to be saluted by every Indian for the courage they had to make such a film in India. And believe me when I say that such films don't get made in India. It is a miracle therefore that this film even got to see the light of day.
Let me get to the film now. 'Madras Café' tells the story behind the alleged conspiracy of the assassination of a very prominent personality. It is fictional of course but the viewer will immediately get to know what it is actually about after first laying eyes on the screen. It tells the story of how despite doing everything we can we still lose out to those elusive and powerful tycoons who pulls the strings and rule the world. It tells the story of how a man, despite losing everything he has, never loses faith in the system and keeps on trying to do his job. It gives a very rare insight into how the way things work in real life covert operations which, I am sorry to say to Salman Khan fans, does not involve Salman Khan blasting away cars as a RAW agent!!
The Film:
It is an intelligent and fast paced film with a tad slow first half but the second half more than compensates. It begins with John Abraham (in a standout performance) narrating his tale to the church priest in a confession and gives a chilling effect when he says, “Its’ all a big conspiracy. Its’ all a big game to them!” And then film doesn’t waste any time and gets on with the proceedings and shows us a world in which no one can really be trusted, a world where everyone is a potential double crosser. To say the least, ‘Madras Café ‘ is the boldest film in the history of Indian cinema and is at par or even better than the best of Hollywood in such genre, for example ‘Argo’.
The Direction:
Shoojit Sircar handles the camera very competently and is utterly fearless in his portrayal of the shadowy world of conspiracies. He needs to be commended simply for his utter fearlessness. Other than that, he does a stupendous job and the result is spell binding!!
The Acting:
John Abraham is the man!!! He stretches himself as an actor tremendously and uses his intensity and physical presence to great effect. He makes a damn good RAW agent and please, Salman Khan as a RAW agent was one big JOKE!!
Nargis Fakhri gave an okay performance but special mention must go to Siddharta Basu who played the role of Robin Dutta and to Prakash Belwadai who played John’s superior in Jaffna.
The background score:
Shantanu Maitra creates a very compelling score and even seems to be slightly inspired from Hans Zimmers ‘Inception’ towards the end but that’s all right!!
The AG Verdict:
“Madras Café “ is a film that must be watched by every Indian just because of the fact that they are Indian!!
