Madras Cafe

Name: Madras Cafe

Genre: Action/Drama/History/Thriller

Cast: John Abraham, Nargis Fakhri, Siddharth Basu, Shoojit Sircar (Director)

Synopsis: A group of armed men stopped a bus and killed all the people travelling in that. A man just woke up just from sleep in a room in Kasauli. He then goes to church in the drunken state and talks to the father of that church. Father asks him that if he wants to say something then tell him all to which he started to tell the whole story about his past. He tells that he was there when the civil war in Sri Lanka was at its darkest phase as the war going on between a major group and minority group of Tamils. He tells how a group named LTF is formed under the leadership of Anna Bhaskaran who stood against the Sri Lankan forces for rights of Tamil’s and this led to start of war and Violence. Indian PM seeing this dangerous civil war wants to intervene and signs a peace accord and during the provincial council election to go peacefully wants to send a peace force in that area but Anna refused to accept this peace accord. Peace force tried capture Anna but Anna escaped as he already know their plan of action and war starts between Anna’s LTF and peace force. To make the provincial council elections a success India sends Major Vikram Singh (John Abraham) of Indian Army for a special covert operation in Jaffna by Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) India’s special Intelligence Agency to make the provincial council elections in Sri Lanka a success. On his way to enter Jaffna, he meets Jaya Shani (Nargis Fakhri) a reporter who was writing a peace column of refuges of the civil war in Sri Lanka.  Vikram meets Bala Krishnan as told by Vikram Superiors in Indian camp at Jaffna. Bala gives him briefing about how weak Anna and makes him surrender which will lessen its hold their. Vikram with a clue meets Sri of TPA who once was with Anna. He tells Sri that India recognizes his TPA and wants him to Counter LTF to which Sri asks him that he needs heavy arms for the same and Vikram accepted it. Jaya interviews Anna and came to know that he is in contact with some foreign alliances.

On the day of the arms deal to took place to Sri as promised by Vikram, on port arms do landed but somehow it was not given to Sri but send to Anna and when Vikram see something fishy in the deal on the port, he checked but were fired heavily from Anna’s men on other side and Vikram lost of his men. Bala was very angry with Vikram’s action and when Vikram told him that there is some leak in the process of deal, Bala told him to go Colombo and remain there till he is not called back. Vikram tries to investigate on how the deal leaked and got a clue from Jaya Sahni. He soon was abducted by LTF but soon a task force was send by India to get him out of LTF’s custody and they recovered him from them. Vikram’s boss meet him at Colombo where he told him that there was a leak among us and asks his permission to meet Mallaya to make him on his side. Mallaya meets Robin Dutt (RD) head of RAW as told by Vikram. RD told him that peace forces will eventually take down Anna at some point sooner or later but what after that. It is necessary to have peaceful elections in the island and he wants to get rights of Tamils, Anna has to be taken down. Peace force was sent to take down Anna while Vikram was sent to Kerala Base and ordered to stay there. After the attack in media it came down to everyone news that Anna was killed and Mallaya has taken over LTF. But Anna was alive as he managed to escape during the peace force attack on him.  Anna sees this become more ferocious and aggressive and killed both and Mallaya and Sri. Hearing the news of Anna is still alive, Prime Minister of India resigned and new government brought back the peace force. After sometime Madras desk of Intelligence coded some intercepts. SP an employee of madras desk gave these intercepts to Bala Krishnan the head of the base and showed concerns of the intercepts but Bala show much seriousness as shown by SP. Soon SP took some files and intercepts and disappeared from that base to much Bala got scared. SP asked Vikram that he had some confidential information that can be shared only with meeting him personally and Vikram agreed.

When Vikram came back after meeting with SP, he sees his wife is being shot and eventually he died. RD condolences with Vikram and asks him to stay focus on the mission. Vikram tracked Basu (Bala junior officer) and asked her what he knows about Bala and his plans. He told Vikram that everything he knows like, he was following orders, Bala talked to guy named Reed about the intercepts and many other things especially Bala was the one who ordered him that Vikram and SP should be killed. Vikram asks Jaya for help from his sources to have evidence as he to nab the leak down. In Bangkok, Vikram meets her source and he tells him each and every detail that who meet whom, where the meeting took place, who are persons involved and what might be the consequences of this meeting may be.That Source also give evidence that Bala was honey trapped to submit to deals of foreigners. Meanwhile, intercepts send by Vikram to RD has been decoded and LTF is going to assassinate the Ex-PM of India. Bala came to know that his cover is blown and shot himself. Vikram and his team with full force start the operation to stop this assassination. He came to know from investigation that there are 6 teams for different cities each comprises of at max 5 members. Also came to know there is a person name Kanda who is the local who is link to Anna and helped the LTF members to come at Madras and help them with their needs and assistance for the mission. Vikram and his team were moving in closer to track the LTF members and a free lancer bomb maker who told them that he had made plastic bomb that can’t be detected with metal detectors. Ex-PM arrives for a rally’s in South and Vikram told that LTF members will strike at 10:00 PM rally. RD tells Ex-PM that there is threat to his security so that he should cancel his today’s meetings but Ex-PM didn’t bother much and moved with his schedule. When he was going on the stage to address the people for the rally a woman was shouting to garland the him and he said yes. The moment she put garland on Ex-PM around him, she triggered the bomb and explosion took place resulting in killing of Ex-PM and many other present there. Vikram to got injured but couldn,t save him. India as well other nation went in deep shock as Ex-PM was killed by a human bomb. RD as thinking being he responsible for not able to save him resigned from the job of intelligence head and Vikram took a voluntary retirement from army. At last Vikram cursed himself that he was late in saving his ex-PM and assassination got as in planned by LTF. He sends some documents and text related to Jaffna and this tragedy to Jaya.

Review: Such movies are rarely seen in Bollywood with real and sensitive issue. Film was extensively researched and well organized. The cinematography of the movie is excellent. Although movie tried to call the story with fictional names but the plot remains the same as the assassination of Late Shri Rajiv Gandhi and everyone knows that. The movie was mostly focused of John Abraham. His performance in the movie was good and so can be said for Nargis Fakhri. Rest of the crew also did a fair enough job. The story moved with a good pace all along. The movie has been close to the reality of war and shows how the modern warfare tactics used in today’s world. The director didn’t add any masala type elements and strictly stick to the core of the movie which is very appreciable. As a whole Remarkable and commendable work done by Shoojit Sircar and a must watch movie for everyone.        

Stars given: 4 out of 5.