MADRAS CAFE - Movie Review

Let us first applaud John Abraham for producing Madras Cafe and Shoojit Sircar for directing it. 

A lot has been said about the stature of Indian Cinema being too low to match the Hollywood levels and about the shit that Bollywood keeps on serving every Friday. Little do the folks understand that if they talk in terms of VFX and special effects, we cannot compete with Hollywood for a plain reason, BUDGET!! 

The next thing being that the revenue that a Bollywood film earns comes from a relatively smaller market than what is available for a Hollywood film. That being said, if the argument is on the story front, I strongly support Bollywood. There are brilliant stories told every Friday but seldom do our people realize their worth. They raise hue and cry about the degrading status of the Indian Film Industry and also make Chennai Express cross Rs.200 crs. Why these dual standards? Why cant the superstars come forward and promote Good Films? With their backing, I am sure, 100 cr plus business is anyway guaranteed. It is time for the Khans and the Kumars and the Kapoors to come forward and silence the critics.

Amongst all this, Madras cafe comes across as a film which will silence everyone with its sincerity to showcase good cinema. There is a story writer willing to be true to the subject, a director willing to take the risk of making a commercial political thriller and a superstar producer willing to act as well as finance the project. Madras Cafe revisits the period from 1986 to 1991 and showcases probably the darkest phase in the history of our neighbouring nation and its repercussions on our country. The movie opens with disturbing scenes of violence between the Sinhalese and the Tamils in Jaffna and the screenplay then progresses to show the inevitable, the killing of our ex-PM (Rajiv Gandhi).

That Madras Cafe must have been really tough to shoot is evident when you see the locations of the scenes and the detailing that has been put into making every scene come alive on screen. The Cinematographer does a brilliant job. His lens captures and tells what is required. It would be unfair to divulge out the story because that is one department which is so taut and precise that it would keep you on the edge of your seats for a large part of time.

John carries the film on his shoulders and it is refreshing to see John finally act! He pulls off a stellar performance. For once, he will have your jaw drop when you see him emote during a sequence where he loses his wife! As a matter of fact John Abraham has been on record about the fact that Madras Cafe would give him some credibility as an actor. It surely will. Probably a career defining film for John.

The same cannot be said about Nargis. Though she gets to mouth her dialogues in English, she still fails miserably.

Rashi Khanna as John's wife emotes exceptionally well and plays her part gracefully.

But what makes Madras Cafe so strong on the performance front is its supporting cast. All of them are relatively new faces (Basu, Belawadi etc) and they lend a tremendous sense of freshness to their performances. Clear and Crisp!

Sircar yet again comes up with a film that requires the audience to be mature, informed and aware. And it feels good to see such films. With footages from Nat Geo some brilliant camera work Sircar creates a haunting impression about the civil war in Sri Lanka, supported exceptionally well by John's V.O. 

The film restrains from taking names but makes it pretty evident through situations. The 1st half is packed extremely well as it takes about 45 minutes to set up the entire premise and the rest of the run time unfolds some brilliant twists and stark truths. This movie demands your attention in every frame for the frames have so much to say. 

With Yahaan, Vicky Donor and now Madras Cafe, Shoojit Sircar is really turning on the game for making smart, informative, gritty and captivating cinema and is nowhere willing to sacrifice on the concept. He masterfully directs the sequences and lets the confusion reach its peak at intermission and like a poem, the twists and the conflicts unfold themselves as the 2nd half progresses.

Madras Cafe is a brave film. Bringing political thrillers into mainstream cinema with such authenticity is a rarity. Though the film has its share of shortcomings as regards the jarring screenplay in the latter part of the 1st half but it overcomes that fault with a superbly narrated 2nd half. 

The film will disturb you. The images of the civil strife in Lanka will haunt you. The emotions, though underplayed beautifully will come out as the credits start to roll and as Papon croons to Maula sun le re. 

Madras Cafe opens up a disturbing chapter in the human history. It also opens up the gates for filmmakers to make films which make sense and to make films which are relevant. It opens up the gates for the filmmakers willing to tell the stories that need to be told. 

Madras Cafe deserves an audience. It deserves the applause. 

The film ends with Tagore's lines (mouthed by John)..Where the head is held high..and the mind is without fear...

Madras cafe is a thoughtful cinematic experience. Expect more such gems from Sircar!

**4 STARS**

AANDHI

There are certain events which occur for a particular reason. Might not appear as a matter of fact there and then but as the years go by, one realizes the importance of those events..

There was a party at my father's friend's farmhouse on the outskirts of Udaipur. The party continued till wee hours and papa did not consider driving back to our house as a safe option so we decided to stay overnight at the farm house. Long after the guests were gone, the elders sat to watch the Video Cassette of AANDHI. My younger brother was fast asleep but something had happened that day. Sleep eluded me. I tried really hard but wasn't able to sleep.

I went out and sat with my mom to watch the film.

Back in 2006, I thought it would be a torture to sit through a movie made in 1975. To add to my pain, the star cast was unfamiliar with the exception of Sanjeev Kumar whose image had already been etched in my mind as Thakur of Sholay. As the opening credits started rolling (back then, there wasn't a concept of playing credits after the film ended) I got glued to the 21" CTV screen. 2 hours and 15 minutes passed and I was left awestruck. Not that I understood the actual message or the theme of the film but it still had enough to keep me entertained. All I recollect is it was that day when I realized that sacrifice is also a way to show Love. Being together is not always possible. Sometimes you have to let go..

Fast forward to 2013. I have already watched AANDHI 11 times.

The film released in February 1975 amidst controversy, as rumours abound that it was based on the life of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi

The film story is based around a chance meeting of a married couple after years of separation, when wife Aarti Devi, now a leading politician happens to stay in the hotel run by her estranged husband during an election campaign. The movie is loosely based on the novel KAALI AANDHI, written by Kamleshwar.

There is one thing which is absolutely unique about this film, the maturity with which the subject has been handled. To see the story and the screenplay lending so much maturity and grace to the topic is a rarity in Bollywood films.

But one does expect that much level of maturity particularly if Gulzaar sahab is the captain of the ship working along with Kamleshwar (the most prominent writer of his time) and R.D Burman (the celebrated genius). To review Aandhi is not my concern. It just would not fit in the rating scale.

The story though based on the novel, was creatively constructed and given a new dimension by Gulzaar and the script writer Bhushan Banmali. Such was the impact of the film that i actually went on to read Kaali Aandhi and some other works by Kamleshwar and believe me, the sensibility and maturity in his writing is visible throughout despite there being a sense of simplicity in his work. Sample these lines from the novel Kitne Pakistan.

.once upon a time, trees provided shelter from the sun and the wind to human homes. Now, the trees have become used to growing in the shadows of tall concrete buildings.
—Kamleshwar, Kitne Pakistan

One can very well imagine the maturity with which Aandhi as a film would have been handled after reading the above few lines.

Sanjeev Kumar ( JK) and Suchitra Sen (AARTI DEVI) meet each other after 10 years of separation. Much has changed during this time. Aarti has become a prominent politician, about to fight out the general elections and JK has become the Managing Director of the Hotel in which fate made Aarti stay for her tenure in that city to carry out her election campaign.

The scene where the couple meets each other after a decade will remain etched in my mind forever. They remember everything about each other, blush while remembering those days. Moments of awkward silences get created which make way for beautiful flashbacks which tells us the story as to why they had to separate. 

Aarti is an ambitious girl, well educated wanting to make a career in politics and idolises Indira Gandhi falls for JK who is an assistant manager at a hotel. Aarti gives upon her ambitions to marry JK as he hates politics and wants to lead a simple hassle free life but she realizes that it was becoming tough for her to manage her brimming ambitions of making it big at the political stage and her personal space. 

This leads to a showdown between the couple and it is by far the best confrontation scenes shot in the history of Indian Cinema. Such is an impact of the scene that you as an audience feel that both of them are right! There is no drama. Aarti calmly walks out of the house and from the life of JK. We get to know this through a beautifully visualised flashback. 

The rest of the story, for some time, then focuses on tracking the various political strategies used by the opposition party to tarnish Aarti's image and the counter attack by Aarti. 

There is dirty politics which leads to opposition posting questions on Aarti's character as her relationship with JK comes out in public! There again in one fine scene JK loses his cool and challenges the people to approach him to know about his relationship with Aarti rather than talking shit. The dialogues penned by Gulzaar are classic.

Sanjeev Kumar, since i saw Aandhi has been one of my most favourite actors for the simple reason because he could convey so much with his expressions! His performance almost seems effortless. 

Aandhi is a musical masterpiece. Every song, in itself is a classic. R.D Burman and Gulzaar team up together to give out a soul stirring album whose songs are considered as evergreen classics.

Tum aa Gaye Ho..Noor Aa Gaya Hai portrays the importance of the respective partners in one anothers life with exceptional lyrical beauty. 

Iss Mod Se Jaate Hai will transfer you to a different world all together. The lyrics are heavy and require undivided attention to understand the meanings of the song at one go.

 But the track that stands out is Tere Bina Zindagi se Koi Shikwa Nahi.. This song is 7 minutes of brilliance. From the musical arrangement to the lyrics, from the haunting vocals of Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar to the absolutely amazing acting by the lead pair, from the dialogue filling the song mid way to poetry that will make you want to stand up and applaud the genius of gulzaar, this song can itself make an interesting script for a full length feature film.

 The song goes- TERE BINA ZINDAGI SE KOI SHIKWA TOH NAHI...TERE BINA ZINDAGI BHI LEKIN ZINDAGI TOH NAHI...

 (There is no other complain I have from my life except you...but then I realize that my life isn't life anymore without you)

Despite the separation, both of them feel the closeness but fearing that her name might be tarnished and jeopardize her career; Aarti does not want to step forward.

But as the movie ends, we see Aarti going out in public and clearing her stand about her relationship with JK as she is again wanting to get back to JK, leaving her political career behind. And this is where Gulzaar wins the audience as JK tells Aarti to focus on her career as all he wants is to see Aarti win in life and doesn't want her to give up. 

As the last scene comes up on screen, there is invariably a tear that rolls down everytime I watch Aandhi..

AANDHI is a very special movie for me. It is that movie that made me aware about the geniuses like Gulzaar, R.D Burman, Sanjeev Kumar, Kamaleshwar, J.OM Prakash etc, it is that movie which made be interested in watching the other films of the golden era and be aware of the amazing collection of cinema that India had produced.  

It is that movie which taught me to let go certain things in life but most importantly Aandhi taught me to face situations, adjust accordingly if it is impossible to fight them, but never give up! 

Aandhi is a rare basket of human emotions, shows the rawness as well as the matured thought process of an individual and most importantly AANDHI makes complete sense even after 38 years of its release.