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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

    8grande_illusion

    Objective portrayal of LTTE struggle

    The political opponents of this film have been proved wrong. Politicians and their sidekicks should first watch the movie before they start screaming "ban, ban"! The film manages to take a cleverly done objective stance of the LTTE fight for Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka and the circumstances that led to the killing of former India PM Rajiv Gandhi. The film could have a better impact if it used names of the real people they trying to portray instead of resorting to semantics to camouflage their identities, while at the same time making it so obvious as to who the characters represent. However, overall it is a thriller which works well unlike Kamaal Haasan's "Vishwaroopam" released few months ago, with a similar theme.
    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...
    7lediscipledessocrates

    Choose Madras over Chennai. It is Crisp, Clean and Clear.

    There is absolutely no reason why you should not watch this movie. It is by all means a pretty decent thriller. Utterly devoid of the superfluities and terse to the point of being of labelled as "un-bollywoodish" the movie represents all that is desirable in an entertainer.

    My brother quite ably put it into words when he declared that the charm of the movie lay in it's abstinence from over indulgence.

    John Abraham does a commendable job (except for , may be a few scenes, where it is his bad make up and hair do which need to be blamed more than him) .

    He is supported by an able cast of actors who deliver credible performances.

    The script isn't circumlocutory and the Director isn't shy of laying down facts and opinions in an unequivocal and objective manner.

    The absence of songs , does wonders for the health of the audience and the movie too. Needless to say there is no parallel romantic plot disturbing the flow of the narrative.

    In fact the movie checks itself every time there a temptation beckoning it over do things.

    The Director is honest and doesn't mince his words when describing the situation as as he sees it.

    If you have stepped out for a movie and are thinking about catching the last express to chennai , believe me , you ought to change your itinerary and catch a cup of coffee in the café.
    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!!!
    10iruled16

    John and Shoojit team is much better than Ajay and Rohit Shetty.No fake actions no stupid jokes

    Madras Cafe is not only one of the best releases but the only best release in this recent time. John is no more expression less actor.HE worked extremely hard in his recent projects and proved him.And he is at his best in Madras Cafe. Talking about Nargis her accent is good but should have done hard work on her acting skills. Thank God no Lungi dance at the end but a beautiful song called Maula sun mere. And then the Assassination. As we all know the end but it keeps us on the edge of our seat till the last scene Credits to Shoojit Sircar. Very realistic,great performances by everyone and great direction. They killed him .We lost him for no mistake.He was so young. This touches everyone Hearts......

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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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