Review of Madras Cafe (2013) by Jehangir A — 29 Jul 2014

One line summary: Well-directed political thriller concerning the turmoil in 1990s Sri Lanka.

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The setting is the turmoil of the 1990s in Sri Lanka. Vikram Singh is the point man for Army Intelligence (RAW, or Research and Analysis Wing) in the matter. He is drawn in when there are clear signs that an assassination attempt will be made on the former Indian PM, who seems likely to regain his seat of power.

The enemy is faceless, well-organised, and quite good at segmenting what any individual or small group needs to know. Vikram and his entire organisation work very hard at this, and arrest several groups of perpetrators, only to find that there are many small, highly effective bands with the same goal.

At one point, when Vikram gets close to a piece of the truth, he is kidnapped and tortured. He is rescued from this, and goes on the do more exceptional investigatory work. By the end of the story, though, Vikram has paid many high prices.

Through the course of the investigations, Vikram interacts, guardedly, with war correspondent Jaya. Their careful sharing of information was a well-written part of the plot. Vikram's whole-hearted pursuit of the case had more than one bad effect on his relationship with his wife Ruby.

The movie opens to Vikram in later life, alone, alcoholic, limping, and plagued with guilt over failures. Told in flashback style, the years spent pursuing the terrorists is gripping. The long effort at stopping the plot of Anna and the LFT was bulk of the film.

-----Scores-----.

Cinematography: 8/10 Usually great, with a few moments of hand-held nonsense.

Sound: 6/10 I liked the music over the closing credits. Sound was not done in the traditional Bollywood fashion, but then this is a more serious work than the more common musicals. Still, some instrumental music for accenting mood might have been nice.

Acting: 8/10 The acting by the principals is outstanding.

Screenplay: 10/10 The many threads are woven together rather well. The depiction of violence was difficult to watch at times, but trenchant and central to the overall story. Much more screen time goes to political intrigue and efforts at stopping a determined terrorist group from achieving its goals.