When I was first introduced to fiction from Fredrick Forsyth and his many peers who have written some delightful political thrillers based on real life events, I was enthralled by their detailing and real life political setting as well as the oft blurred lines between fact and fiction, so much so, I used to refer to them FACTion and not mere fiction. While Hollywood and international cinema churn out political thrillers and dramas based on real life events in regular intervals, the best we ever get from mainstream Bollywood and regional language movies are the occasional biopics. Dramas or thrillers based on real life political events have been an arena where contemporary Indian cinema had clearly feared to tread.
Director Shoojit Sircar's Madras Cafe ventures into such a sphere and presents an interesting thriller set in the background of civil war in Sri Lanka during the late eighties and the early nineties. It weaves a fictionalised account of the political conspiracy that eventually culminated in the assassination of the former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
The movie has a quirky beginning with a dishevelled, dazed and drunk John Abraham in a hill station recounting the events to a priest which unfold as a flashback. John plays Vikram Singh, an army officer working with Reasearch & Analysis Wing (RAW). It is the late eighties when India had signed a peace accord with the island nation and had sent in the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to Sri Lanka to restore peace and assist in a peaceful political transition in the Tamil areas of the north and the east by disarming the rebels. However, they have to confront the powerful Tamil rebel group called LTF headed by the Anna Bhaskaran (an aptly cast Ajay Ratnam) who is keen to continue the armed struggle for an independent Tamil homeland, for he fears that if they accept disarming, the locals will be decimated after the withdrawal of IPKF. Vikram is sent to the Jaffna to work under Bala (Belawade) to ensure that the peace process succeeds and there is a peaceful political transition through popular elections. To this end, he tries to weaken Anna's & LTF's stranglehold over the region by providing covert support to outsiders as well as dissenters within the LTF. Vikram is helped by Jaya Sahni (Nargis Fakhri), a London based war correspondent who provides him with some vital clues. However, he is ignorant of the many undercurrents of betrayal at play and is forced to return to India after a failed operation. Consequently, Anna and LTF eliminate all their opponents and emerge the strongest force in the region. Shift in political dynamics in India & Sri Lanka result in an ignominious exit of the IPKF from Sri Lanka. However, when the political winds of change blowing in India indicate the return to power of the former prime minister, whom Anna fears could jeopardise his ongoing struggle, he resorts to pre-empt that situation and conspires to assassinate him. There is also an element of international conspiracy that seeks to profit by perpetuating strife in the region. The rest of the movie is a race against time where Vikram and his colleagues unravel the conspiracy and attempt to foil the plans of Anna and his assasins.
The movie takes some time to set up the context and these early portions lack in pace and are listless. However, the movie finds it soon after the scene shifts to Sri Lanka and some tighter scripting and crisp editing sets up a pulsating second half which is set as a race against time. The cinematography is excellent throughout and provides an authentic feel to the unfolding events. Shantanu Moitra's score sets an apt tone for the proceedings and elevates the intensity of the events in the second half.
John Abraham has done a good job in the role that requires a restrained performance. Nargis Fakhri seems adequate in a cameo of an English speaking international war corrspondent. The other roles have been aptly cast - be it Ajay Ratnam as Anna or Sidhartha Basu as Robin Dutt, the RAW chief or Belavade as Bala - and their performances are competent.
On the flip side, the movie appears a bit muddled in some portions where the events appear to unfold in a haze. Also, the portions between John and his wife (Rashi Khanna), though included to portray him as a normal person, could have been edited out as they slacken the pace without adding any significant heft. Also, Vikam's retelling of the events as a flashback to a priest in a hill station appear to serve no useful purpose.
Nevertheless, John Abraham as a producer as well as the lead and Shoojit Sircar deserve much credit for the mere fact that they chose to make such a movie and explore an hitherto unexplored terrain for Indian mainstream cinema. It is also no mean feat that they have managed to pull off this ambitious enterprise quite successfully without succumbing to the several cliched compromises of Bollywood such as making the hero to pull off Bond/Bourne like stunts (Ek tha Tiger or Agent Vinod), jarring jingoism which paints the other side as pure evil (Gadar, Border, et al).
Despite being a movie set in the background of a war, Madras Cafe does not take sides; Nor is it a movie that overly focuses on its main lead. The protagonist here is merely one of the key players in the plot which has several layers of intrigues that he has to grapple with. The unfolding political conspiracy remains the unflinching focus of the movie and it underlines the theme of futility war which begets devastates both winners and losers.
Overall, Madras Cafe, despite a few flaws, is an audacious venture and presents a taut thriller which is authentic in equal measure. Both, John Abraham as producer and Shoojit Sircar as the director deserve plaudits for such back-to-back (after Vicky Donor) projects which raise the bar for Indian cinema. If only, we, as a nation, could grow to appreciate and encourage such efforts without expressing umbrage, we can hope to see more such meaningful entertainers. If only ....
A VERY VERY GOOD WATCH !!
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