Madras Cafe is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language political action thriller film[7] directed by Shoojit Sircar and starring John Abraham, Nargis Fakhri with newcomer Raashii Khanna(in her Hindi debut)in lead roles.

[17] There he meets a British journalist Jaya Sahni (Nargis Fakhri)[18] who wants to reveal the truth about the civil war, and in the process he uncovers a conspiracy to assassinate the former Indian prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, through the use of plastic explosives.

The film then moves five years back, when the continuous battle between the Sri Lankan military forces and Tamil militant groups had reached a dangerous level.

The Indian Prime Minister (Sanjay Gurubaxani) decides to sign a peace accord with the Sri Lankan Government.

Vikram, posing as a war correspondent, manages to reach Mallayya (based on real-life LTTE member Gopalaswamy Mahendraraja), second-in-command of Anna, and persuades him to meet RD in Colombo.

Vikram and Indian forces then launch a massive attack on the LTF base camp, where Anna and his men (minus Mallayya) were discussing strategy.

Balakrishnan finds out about it and burns the remaining papers, later telling someone over the phone that SP and Vikram are in Kochi and he should send some men there.

Back in Delhi, RAW had decoded the intercepts and had also found out about Balakrishnan's fake passports and unknown bank accounts.

A massive manhunt begins, and hundreds of LTF associates are nabbed by Indian security forces and local cops.

Rishi tells this to Vikram and further says that Kannan Kanan, an associate of Anna's man Kanda, is in Madurai Jail and might be helpful.

Vikram then manages to catch Vijayan from his hideout, who tells him that the refugees are going to assassinate the ex-PM with plastic explosives, which are untraceable to metal detectors.

He reaches there nearly on time, but the suicide bomber manages to put the wreath on the neck of the ex-PM, and while bowing down, she pulls the trigger and kills him along with herself and many others.

[39] For the role of the foreign war correspondent, Fakhri was chosen because the director required "a girl who looked Indian but had an [English] accent".

[8][40] Initially, American-based actress Freida Pinto was chosen to portray Jaya Sahni, but due to prior commitments she withdrew from the project.

[41] Shoojit Sircar contacted model Sheetal Mallar for the film,[42] but as things did not work out, newcomer Rashi Khanna was signed for the role, marking her debut.

[20] The cast also included a number of non-professional actors, such as quiz master Siddharth Basu, filmmaker Prakash Belawadi and journalist Dibang.

"We knew we couldn't shoot this in Sri Lanka, so we shot most of it in Tamil Nadu and Kerala and converted it into a war zone.

It highlights India's ambiguous role, moving sensitively, taking no sides, except those of relationships involving respect – but no romance – between Vikram Singh and Jaya Sahni, duty, victory and loss.

"[24] Reviewing for the Hindustan Times, Anupama Chopra wrote "Madras Café works as an effective portrait of the futility of war.

Shoojit Sircar touches base with Sri Lanka and unravels the complex 'Tamil problem' as many living North of the Vindhyas call it.

"[53] Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN also praised Sircar, opining, "Unlike, in the West, it's hard to make films on real-life historical events in India.

"[54] The Pakistani newspaper Dawn gave the film a positive review by saying, "Shoojit Sircar's human-drama of politics, rebellion, genocide and spy-games adapts Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination plot, and the Sri Lankan civil war with sweaty palms and a gawky breakneck pace.

The daily concludes that "For all its speed and embedded seriousness about global conflict, the nature of war, consequences and international trade, Madras Café's lack of braves turns it into mellow spy-thriller.

[33] "Watching Nargis Fakhri embodying the cliché of a writer hammering away at a typewriter with a cigarette stuck between her lips is a visual joke for the ages."

Seeman stated the heart of the movie is anti-Tamil and Prabhakaran is portrayed as villainous, also remarking that they would stop screenings of the film after a special preview was arranged for pro-Tamil outfits.

[60] Replying to the ban demands, John Abraham said while he respects the opinions of everyone, no one is above the Censor board and creativity should not be held at gun point.

[61] Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar said "the film is an effort to glorify a particular political party and its leaders by demeaning [an]other sect of people.

[64] The petition also claimed that Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa secretly financed the film to justify the human rights violations during the final stages of the war.

[68][69] In September 2013, Abraham's role as a RAW agent won him the "Pride of the Nation" award, given by the Anti-Terrorist Front, for "his attempt to raise the sensitive issue of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination".

[71] [74] [76] [79] The film's soundtrack is composed by Shantanu Moitra, and lyrics are written by Ali hayat, Zebunissa Bangash and Manoj Tapadia