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IMDbPro

Madras Cafe

  • 2013
  • Not Rated
  • 2h 10m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
26K
YOUR RATING
John Abraham in Madras Cafe (2013)
An Indian intelligence agent journeys to a war-torn coastal island to break a resolute rebel group and meets a passionate journalist.
Play trailer2:31
1 Video
19 Photos
HindiSpyActionDramaThriller

An Indian intelligence agent journeys to a war-torn coastal island to break a resolute rebel group and meets a passionate journalist.An Indian intelligence agent journeys to a war-torn coastal island to break a resolute rebel group and meets a passionate journalist.An Indian intelligence agent journeys to a war-torn coastal island to break a resolute rebel group and meets a passionate journalist.

  • Director
    • Shoojit Sircar
  • Writers
    • Shubhendu Bhattacharya
    • Juhi Chaturvedi
    • Somnath Dey
  • Stars
    • John Abraham
    • Nargis Fakhri
    • Raashi Khanna
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.6/10
    26K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Shoojit Sircar
    • Writers
      • Shubhendu Bhattacharya
      • Juhi Chaturvedi
      • Somnath Dey
    • Stars
      • John Abraham
      • Nargis Fakhri
      • Raashi Khanna
    • 155User reviews
    • 30Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 12 wins & 16 nominations total

    Videos1

    Madras Cafe Trailer
    Trailer 2:31
    Madras Cafe Trailer

    Photos18

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    + 13
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    Top Cast29

    Edit
    John Abraham
    John Abraham
    • Vikram Singh
    Nargis Fakhri
    Nargis Fakhri
    • Jaya Sahni
    Raashi Khanna
    Raashi Khanna
    • Ruby
    • (as Rashi Khanna)
    K.R. Parmeshwar
    • Narayan
    Steve Fahl
    • Reed
    Manoj Bakshi
    Manoj Bakshi
    • Home Secretary 2nd Cabinet
    Avijit Dutt
    Avijit Dutt
    • Swarup
    Kannan Arunachalam
    Kannan Arunachalam
    • Shri
    Prakash Belawadi
    Prakash Belawadi
    • Bala Krishnan
    Dinesh Prabhakar
    Dinesh Prabhakar
    • Rajshekaran
    • (as Dinesh Nair)
    Gaurav K. Sharma
    Gaurav K. Sharma
    • K.T
    • (as Gaurav Sharma)
    Ajay Ratnam
    • Anna Bhaskaran
    Sanjay Gurbaxani
    Sanjay Gurbaxani
    • Former Prime Minister
    Tarun Bali
    • Rishi
    Jayanta Das
    • DGMI (1st Cabinet)
    Aayam Mehta
    • Vasu
    Sudhanva Deshpande
    • Home Secretary
    Dibang
    Dibang
    • Informer, bangkok
    • Director
      • Shoojit Sircar
    • Writers
      • Shubhendu Bhattacharya
      • Juhi Chaturvedi
      • Somnath Dey
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews155

    7.626.4K
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    Featured reviews

    8saytosandeep

    MY REVIEW: What a Cafe to be in!!

    Madras Cafe is a kind of political and espionage thriller that Bollywood never tried before. First half requires your patience. It is a mix of striking visuals, haunting sound design, introduction of key characters, their motives and the felling that something is not right. Second half is a piece of cinematic perfection where characters gets meaty dialogs, feel of danger keeps growing and finally in the climax you feel helpless like our hero. Based on actual events mixed with fictitious characters, Madras Cafe becomes a very important movie that should be watched by every Indian. Acting is top-notch. You won't be able to forget the imagery of first half and tension of second half long after the end credit starts. Director Shoojit Sarkar provides the ample conviction and uniqueness to whole idea and surprises you with his versatility (he directed Vicky Donor before). The movie has little flaws like packing too much information in first half and few key details not described clearly. But I can say with full comfort that it would be a mistake if you give this movie a miss.
    9rajanahuja4

    Probably the best movie of it's genre from the Indian sub continent

    Probably the best movie of it's genre(spy/espionage/war/politics) from the Indian sub continent ever. Well researched, scripted and dramatized with a gripping pace and thrilling twists. Indian commercial movies normally have very faint reflection of reality or they go overboard in their desire to please all with more than a pinch of spice, item songs, super hero justifications and other indispensable Indian commercial considerations. But this one beats it all and yet retains the charm of a commercial flick. A perfect balance and a fine confluence of commerce and art,rarely seen in Indian cinema. A very strong script with probably the first ever peep into the working of Indian Intelligence Agencies and a panoramic capture of serious geopolitical subject with utmost honesty. A movie which remains true to the core yet maintains a edge of the seat drama through out. Not to be missed for the lovers of good Indian cinema, meaningful & superbly entertaining.
    9ckaran80

    As good as blood diamond and green zone...

    Madras Cafe is a political thriller which although claimed fictional, is inspired by real events. Its tells the conspiracy behind the assassination of ex-prime minister of India and the War situation in Baffna region of Sri Lanka...The movie is fast paced and is so intriguing and well-crafted that it can be easily this years best...

    With zero publicity stunts, Madras Cafe director Shoojit Sircar tries to go out of conventions and comes up with this masterpiece...Political thrillers are ones which people in bollywood rarely attempt, and Shoojit does it bravely...Right from the start, the plot involves you in such a way that it is hard to come out of it.The pace of the movie, entangled characters,series of events, unveiling of conspiracies and then finally the climax- all are up to mark and hence make this movie a spectacle to watch...

    The Screenplay is fabulous- it divides the movie in two parts efficiently. First, the war conditions in Baffna and then the assassination plot.In between shocking plots are revealed and it covers a vast script in its runtime.The reason why i compare this with Hollywood masterpieces like blood diamond and green zone is not because of the similarity, but due to the fact that Madras Cafe maintains the originality of facts while imbibing the fast paced and thrilling plot.

    John Abraham plays the lead role and this could be his best performance after dhoom, and does total justice to his role.Nargis Fakhri is the surprise package and shows that she can be versatile...The supporting cast is totally naive but they give their very best...

    The only drawback or error you can say is relatively average editing.Its cliché and too short for many scenes...

    But as a whole, Madras Cafe is a sinister, evil political thriller which is supported by intense acting and direction and the plot is simply ravishing.Its a sign that bollywood has started making sensible movies on a large scale.

    Madras Cafe is not for crowd who like Chennai Express,Rowdy Rathore or Dabang, but it for those who acknowledge movies like A Wednesday, Shanghai and Rang De Basanti. This one wouldn't be watched on a large scale, won't gross in hundreds of crores,will not receive flurry of awards...but for me its simply one the best that bollywood has ever produced...
    10cyberundertakor

    Kudos to Indian Cinema

    Rather than writing a long review explaining the Pros and Cons this is Indian Cinema which now is evolved.

    Rather than pleasing the masses they have now gone ahead and showed the truth.

    The beauty is that even when the audience knows that what has to happen in the end The director still holds us to the movie.

    It can be said now that filmmakers in India can boldly make real-life stories without fear of controversy or censorship, this may be the best way to approach important stories that must be told.

    A Must Watch film and good job by Shoojit Sircar.

    Well Done Team of Madras Cafe.
    9nevilpachani

    Worth a Watch!!

    Madras Cafe is a wonderful representation of Sri Lankan civil war from the viewpoint of India. Critics state that it fails to capture the emotional aspect of the war but it was never meant to be viewed from the Lankan point of view.

    It is a non Bollywoodish movie where we find no songs, dancing etc. There is no stupid romantic crap in the movie which other Indian political movies show. Relationship of John and Nargis is strictly professional(the way it should be).

    One of the best Indian movies of the year after probably D Day and Ranjhaana. WATCH IT PEOPLE!!!

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    Related interests

    Sharman Joshi, Aamir Khan, and Madhavan in 3 Idiots (2009)
    Hindi
    Daniel Craig in Skyfall (2012)
    Spy
    Bruce Willis and Taniel in Die Hard (1988)
    Action
    Naomie Harris, Mahershala Ali, Janelle Monáe, André Holland, Herman Caheej McGloun, Edson Jean, Alex R. Hibbert, and Tanisha Cidel in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film is set in the late 1980s and early '90s, during the time of Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan civil war and assassination of former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
    • Goofs
      Towards the end of the movie, Vikram sends a Jaffna Documents to Jaya. The title of the documents is written in Calibri font typeface. Calibri font was added to Microsoft Office in 2007 and was not present before.
    • Connections
      Features Aashiqui (1990)
    • Soundtracks
      Sun Le Re
      Sung by Papon

      Lyrics by Ali Hayat

      Music composed by Shantanu Moitra

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    FAQ17

    • How long is Madras Cafe?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 23, 2013 (India)
    • Country of origin
      • India
    • Language
      • Hindi
    • Also known as
      • Tình Báo
    • Filming locations
      • Sri Lanka
    • Production companies
      • J.A. Entertainment
      • Rising Sun Films
      • Viacom18 Motion Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • ₹350,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $38,333
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h 10m(130 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Atmos
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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