Madras Cafe

An Indian political thriller. Vikram is an intelligence officer. A civil war is going on in Sri Lanka and he is sent there; his task is to create a split inside the separatist organisation. When he arrives the situation is more tangled than he thought. The organisation is strong, local politics is intertwined with it, and some of the people on his own side are working with the other. He meets a journalist. Jaya works in the field, knows the events closely, and what she has does not match the official reports. From there the film moves toward uncovering an assassination plan. The target is a senior politician and Vikram is trying to stop it in time. What the narrative is interested in is not the war but information: who knew what and when, and why it did not travel upward. The film builds that as an investigation. It is based on real events with the names changed. On release it drew protest in Tamil Nadu; screenings were blocked in places and the producers stated that the film did not target any particular group. John Abraham plays Vikram and also produced. Nargis Fakhri and Raashii Khanna are in the cast. Shoojit Sircar directed. Who it is for: anyone who likes political thrillers and spy stories drawn from real events. Who it is not for: anyone expecting an even-handed view; the film tells the events largely through the eyes of one state.