VISITOR COLUMN

Friendship, revenge, romance and political rivalry are the core elements of Attakathi fame Pa.Ranjith’s latest offering, Madras. Set in the locales of North Chennai, Madras features Karthi in the lead role.

Madras is about two political factions which were previously united; vying over a wall in their locality in their fight for power and authority. The story and theme isn’t a novel one, but the way it unfolds and the narration sets it apart from movies of similar theme. The film has been presented in a raw and realistic manner with an extremely heavy North Chennai flavor; be it the dialogues, locations or both the main and supporting casts. There’s only one word to describe: spot-on.

The performance of the cast is simply brilliant. Karthi as the short-fused Kaali impresses after such a long time. We finally got to see him in a performance-oriented role again. His portrayal of a North Madras resident deserves a mention. Catherine Theresa, making her debut in Tamil cinema plays the role of the Kalaiarasi. She has delivered a neat performance as a typical girl-next-door. The rest of the cast do justice to their roles and they have impressed as well. The entire cast had minimal or zero make-up, which contributes to the realism of the film.

Murali.G’s cinematography captures the North Chennai landscape very well. The raw look of the film is attributed to this man. Santhosh Narayanan is on a high right now and he excels yet again. The background score is top-notch. Apart from the narration, it is Santhosh’s BGM which elevates the film to an even higher standard. The Praveen-Srikanth duo had ensured the film runs at a desirable speed. The stunts by Anbarivu also deserve a mention as well.

In a nutshell, Madras is definitely a top-quality product which places itself in the cult film category. You don’t always get to see an almost perfect product from a two-film old director. Karthi is back, doing what he does best. If you enjoy films made by Guy Ritchie or Anurag Kashyap, you will definitely enjoy this too.

Madras – Raw, rugged and real.

Rating: 3.5/5