New Delhi: 'Madras Cafe' has been released amidst controversy about the portrayal of LTTE in the film. Shoojit Sircar, the director of 'Madras Cafe', talks about the idea, controversy and premise of the film in a candid chat with IBNLive.
Q: Quite clearly, 'Madras Cafe' is not about the complexities of the relationships.
A: This film is not about the complexities of the relationship; in fact it's about the complexities of a country, of its politics.
'Madras Cafe' is a spy political thriller, quite a realistic one. It's all about a spy who goes to Sri Lanka for a covert operation and unearths few codes and intercepts which he later finds are some threats to national security. It is an assassination plot targeted at a national leader. Then how he traces the origin of these threats and what he does to save the leader makes the core of the story.
Q: Have you taken a firm stand in the film?
A: I will not take a firm stand. It is very neutral and I think it would be the audience's point of view what they take home. I am not biased and have told the story as it is. The story is through Vikram's point of view, who is the protagonist, let the people judge and have their own point of view.
Q: It's all about the Sri Lankan civil war, isn't it?
A: Of course, there is a lot of civil war in 'Madras Cafe'. You see the refugees, the displaced, civilians, everything in 'Madras Cafe'. The ideology and politics of the rebel groups have also been featured.
Q: Can the story be neutral if it is told from a RAW agent's point of view?
A: Yes, it can be. Why can't a story be told from a particular point of view and then the audience decide what to understand of it. There are always pros and cons to a story but you see, the story is in a way the account of what the leading man has gone through.
Q: Nargis Fakhri was criticised a lot after 'Rockstar', still you featured her in a pivotal role.
A: It was a difficult decision because she was criticised in 'Rockstar' but then everybody needs a second chance in life. If somebody hasn't performed for the first time that doesn't mean you should discard that person completely. You will be surprised to see her performance in the film. She has a very important role of a war correspondent in the film, which has a lot of weight and responsibility.
Q: I have heard that the story was in making since many years.
A: This story goes 6-7 years back when John Abraham and I started to work on the script. There were many choices but I went to John first and he responded perfectly to the script. He had a good idea about the civil war and the subject. You know, when the actor knows about the theme, it becomes easy for the director to plan out things. There were still some reservations but when I saw that John is hungry for good work I didn't approach anybody else.
We had to do a lot of research for it. It took some time but we took care of facts and that helped us in planning our screenplay. That's why it took six years. There are at least 10 principal characters, so it had to take time.
Q: A bigger canvas must have made 'Madras Cafe' a difficult venture.
A: Let me tell you something, 'Vicky Donor' was a more difficult film than 'Madras Cafe'. Visualising the civil war was of course a tough thing but a film on sperm donation was never made in India. A film like 'Vicky Donor' that cut across all genres was a tedious project to handle. However, the political line I tread in 'Madras Cafe' was tough to march on.
Q: Does the rebel leader featured in 'Madras cafe' represent Prabhakaran?
A: I think he represents the ideology of the group. There is definitely some resemblance in his look with Prabhakaran. We have fictionalised the accounts but we have tried to come up with a story which could take the audience to the era of civil war. Tamil actor Ajay Rathnam has played the rebel leader in 'Madras Cafe'.
Q: What do you think about the controversy surrounding 'Madras Cafe'? You think protesters are doing the right thing?
A: I am disappointed. I tell the protesting groups that they have a right to present their point of view and come on a platform where we can talk but don't stop other cinema goers from watching the film. I have already shown the film to Censor Board and it has passed the film.
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