[3][4][5] The film's story revolves around Kaali (Karthi), an impulsive and short-tempered IT professional who lives in the Vyasarpadi area of Chennai.

His friend Anbu (Kalaiyarasan) is killed in the midst of a feud between two factions of a political party over a building wall at one of the housing board apartments in the area.

[7] Released on 26 September 2014, the film garnered generally positive reviews and was a commercial success at the box office.

At the 62nd Filmfare Awards South, Madras was nominated in eleven categories, winning Critics Award for Best Actor (Karthi), Best Female Debut (Tresa), Best Supporting Actress (Riythvika) and Best Male Playback Singer (Pradeep Kumar for "Aagayam Theepidicha").

It also received a nomination for Best Playback Singer (Female) for Shakthisree Gopalan at the Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards.