Unevenly paced yet engaging, a must watch but not necessarily in a rush.

Director Sircar doesn't take you into his world. And I count that as a shortcoming of this film. When it's already proclaimed as a work of fiction, then why so serious? Let's play with it. But, thanks to the crisp storytelling, we aren't bombarded with its heavy-duty tone.

Madras Cafe is a decent film; it is not spectacular, nor is it the “gripping” espionage thriller I see it being touted as. It is a little choppy, some things in the film lack logic and development, but overall it is worth watching.

So, Madras Cafe released after some controversies. After all, a Shoojit Sircar directed movie, that too a political thriller, is expected to get such attention. The movie takes us into the time when civil war was at its top in Sri Lanka. A two hours and 10 minutes movie doesn’t disappoint you at all.
Movie opens with a local group killing people travelling in a bus. And then appears the man, Vikram Singh, drinking, in a three-months-stubble. Seriously, till the time he didn’t speak, I was not able to recognize him. So much engrossed in his role. And then starts the flashback.
Just like every other movie, the situation is out of control and an intelligence officer, Vikram Singh is sent to take control, where he discovers about the harsh sides of the civil war.
I was a big fan of John, until I watched him in those gay type movies, Dostana and Desi Boys. I, like my other friends wondered why, with the looks of an action hero, he is doing such Shahid Kapoor type movies. But then came the Vicky Donor where he proved himself as a producer. And now with Madras Café, he again proved himself as a producer, and a big time, as an actor. John Abraham is not shown as a super hero who is going to save the assassination target in the end. He is shown as someone who follows his senior’s instructions yet does it his own ways, and struggles with his emotions. He and Shoojit Sircar take the credit for this.
After watching her on Rockstar, I was not very enthusiastic about her acting in such a critical type of movie. But in her British war correspondent avatar , she surprised. Being a call center agent, I can relate to her accent and I totally liked it. But just like everyone, I wondered why she was totally in English when she could understand Hindi so well. Nevertheless, she was impressive. Rashi Khanna, as John’s wife, has her own sides to worry about. Siddharth Basu as the R&AW; bureaucrat was also good.
The best thing, well there are so many. There in nothing over in the movie, no Rohit Shetty action, simple and soothing music, specially the song Maula Sun Le Re in the end. There are some, only some moments which could have been edited out but that’s justified. Photography is good, second half of the movie is exceptionally and doesn’t let you wait for the action while the first half is all about discovering the real suspects, the threads and much more.
A well written, well directed movie. In the end, I found the movie better than D-Day, recommended strongly.
Time to get off the Chennai Express and hop into Madras Café.