Inspired by real historical and political events, including the Sri Lankan civil war of the 80s and 90s and the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, Madras Café is a particular Bollywood film released in 2013 and which is, despite its inspiration, largely fictional.
No songs, no romance, no melodramatic effects and bright colors, the film could only see the light of day thanks to the participation of John Abraham who is both the producer and the lead actor. A critical success, it did honorably at the box office.
Madras Café is a film starring John Abraham, Nargis Fakhri, Rashi Khanna and directed by Shoojit Sircar. A scruffy, alcoholic man (John Abraham) wakes up to the television news announcing the assassination of the Sri Lankan President.
Feeling unwell, the man takes refuge in a church and tells his story in the form of a confession to the priest present. In the 80s, the man was known as Major Vikram Singh, newly married to Ruby (Rashi Khanna) and a brilliant officer in the Indian army.
Chosen by the secret services to intervene in Sri Lanka and allow India to regain control of the region, he sets out on the trail of the Tamil Tiger rebels but finds himself caught up in local political and military intrigues that are beyond his control. He then meets Jaya Sahni (Nargis Fakhri), a journalist of Indian origin who is covering the Sri Lankan conflict and wants to reveal the truth about the civil war. She gives him her help and some of her contacts.
Increasingly invested in his mission, Vikram finds himself personally targeted but does not give up despite the terrible sacrifices he must make. Little by little, he discovers that the rebels have planned an attack on an Indian political figure and desperately tries with his team to prevent this assassination.
I would like to do a proper review of Madras Cafe but this movie left me in a state of total confusion. I almost gave up halfway through because I didn't understand a thing about the plot but I stuck with it because I was interested in the subject and I love John Abraham. But after watching the whole movie.
I still didn't understand anything except for a brief moment of clarity at the end. What happened? Was I too tired to follow? Do you have to know a little more about Indian politics than I do to understand? Were the subtitles bad? I would have liked to watch some clips again to see if this confusion came from my way of watching or from the plot but I couldn't find a subtitled version.
Watching some passages without subtitles (especially those with the journalist who only speaks in English), I still found some aspects that had complicated my understanding. The scenes often follow one another without transition, seem incomplete with for example a dialogue between two characters that is abruptly followed by one of the characters in a completely different place with other people.
We must be attentive at all times, sometimes try to reconstruct alone what could have happened in the ellipse. The upsetting moments seem rushed: we witness something serious and in two minutes it is over and swept away, we move on to something else. I also got lost in the characters, time and space: who is who?
Where is the Major in his career? What exactly is he doing now? And the journalist? Why are we in Singapore when the previous scene took place in Sri Lanka? The espionage and political intrigues seemed to multiply and I had trouble following them. Is it the film or me? I can't tell you but this is the first Bollywood where I'm this disoriented.
Despite this, I really want to give Madras Café the benefit of the doubt because it has a lot of potential. Its execution is very beautiful, with a raw realism that catches the eye and little emphasis on patriotism as can be found in other Bollywood films of the genre. The atmosphere, especially because of the presence of the journalist, reminded me of Hollywood films like Blood Diamond whose character played by Jennifer Connelly is very close to that of Nargis Fakhri.
Even though I had a hard time understanding it, the second part really struck me with its pace and its political thriller side: the hero and his team of analysts try to prevent a political attack that they are informed about. We venture here into a style often dominated by American productions, with certain codes that we find in these films.
It is therefore particularly interesting to adopt this Indian point of view, this plot taking place on the Asian continent and these non-Western heroes in charge. This kind of film shot by Bollywood, with pace and suspense, is a way of reminding us that geopolitics, espionage and international relations do not always involve Westerners… and it feels good to remember that! I would like to see more like that.
In terms of acting, I had a hard time identifying the characters so I can't really say. I found John Abraham very credible in this serious role, far from the glamorous and sexy characters of most of the films he has made. I would say, however, that he lacks charisma for a hero who is present in almost every scene of the film and leads a large part of the events.
Vikram therefore seems a little too ordinary, almost normal, his inner conflicts and dilemmas are rarely explored, and it was difficult for me to really get attached to him. The director explained that he wanted to show that intelligence agents have nothing to do with James Bond and are people like any other.
Perhaps this position explains the character's lack of grandeur? But it could also have been an opportunity to think about how a "normal" man reacts when caught up in the political stakes and intrigues of civil war. Only the film is more interested in the impact at the level of a State than at the level of individuals.
For her part, Nargis Fakhri did not convince me. Her diction seemed too worked, unnatural and the fact that she speaks only in English while all her interlocutors answer her in an Indian language gave a very strange effect with conversations in two languages. From what I understood of the plot, her character is not that important.
It is worth noting that the film has created some controversy, with many Tamil groups calling for a boycott. According to them, the plot is biased and portrays the rebels too negatively compared to the other side. I am personally unable to say whether this is the case or not, not having really understood who was who (there are power struggles between different factions) so I will let you be the judge!
In short, I neither recommend nor disregard Madras Café. I think it's an interesting film in many ways but I was personally very frustrated by it because it seemed so opaque. Indian critics loved it. So maybe you will too? I would be very curious to hear your opinion if you have seen it! Let me know if you think I should make an effort to find it and watch it again to understand it better!
