Madras Cafe Movie Review

Release Date : Director : Genre : 8/23/2013 12:00:00 AM Shoojit Sircar

Madras Cafe

Details :

Friday, 23rd August 09:30 AM IST MADRAS CAFE Is Well Crafted Edge Of Sit Thriller Pluses: John Abraham gives his best performance, Nargis Fakhiri is big surprise, Rashi Khanna is good and so are Siddharth Basu & Piyush Pandey, first rate supporting cast, superb direction, stellar writing Minuses: editing is patchy, background score is uneven, action lacks novelty Critic Rating: 3.5/5 Business Rating: 2/5 Verdict: Watch it for rare breed of Bollywood - political intense thriller Detail Analysis: Director Shoojit Sircar made "Yahaan' on Kashmir military issue but film did not get anything at box office but critical appreciation. Post that his Amitabh starrer film "Shoebite" (or "Johnny Mastana") failed to see the light of the day. But he made smashing come back with last year's biggest surprise hit "Vicky Donor". This time he is back with same producer John Abraham but again with a gritty political thriller. Film has complicated plot which is a medley of some real political events of late 80's and early 90's. Film tells you a gruelling story of assassination of Prime Minister of India. How a RAW agent played by John Abraham stumbles upon a conspiracy of killing Indian PM. A war reporter played by Nargis and his lady love played by Rashi Khanna add to this intense proceedings. What happens in the end leaves you a bit of shocked and a bit of surprised. Performance wise John Abraham is top notch and undoubtedly this is his best act till date. He underplays RAW agent unlike few other recent films where flimsy agents keep doing death defying stunts with muscular body of WWF wrestler. Watch out for climax where John shines above the rest. Nargis is the biggest surprise and she plays this war reporter with aplomb. She will get some meaty roles sure post this. Debutant Rashi Khanna is good as John's love interest but real scene stealer is the supporting cast. Siddharth Basu as Robin Dutt is perfect and Piyush Pandey gets notice in small role. Dibang, Prakash Belawadi and Ajay Ratnam fit the bill. Though background score is uneven and editing is patchy but excellent cinematography gives you chill down the spine in more than one scene. There is only one song towards the end and that is why there is not much interruption in storytelling.   But the real winner are writers Juhi Chaturvedi and Somnath Dey who keep it real but interesting. There are few jerks though - PM is too noble to believe and killer Bhaskaran is complete bad guy. Dialogues by Juhi lift the proceedings. This is another winner from director Shoojit Sircar  and he succeeds in narrating untold chapter of Indian political history without making it boring. After "Vicky Donor" this will again ensure few more awards to director and crew. Overall film is a rare case in Bollywood where political conspiracy and thrilling experience woven in an entertaining manner. This might not get big numbers at box office but will surely stamp authority in awards and among critics.   Go for this one if you cry for quality cinema from Bollywood! ref: BOC