John Abraham: ‘Madras Café’ is not controversial

Indian film actor John Abraham’s newest political thriller “Madras Café” is mired in controversies even before its release on Aug. 23. The actor, however, says a lot of brainstorming went into the making of the movie and that he is happy with the result.
Abraham doesn’t think “Madras Café” is controversial because “this story is thoroughly researched from authentic sources. It cannot hurt the sentiments of Sri Lanka or Tamil Nadu, or in fact of anyone who sees the film. It is surely inspired by true events but it doesn’t mean it should be banned or face controversies.”
“Madras Café is close to my heart. It is a tense political thriller against the backdrop of the Sri Lankan civil war of the 1980’s. July 2013 marked the 30 year anniversary of the conflict, which finally ended in 2009 with the military defeat of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Madras Café provides a timely reminder of the gruesome conflict that claimed thousands of Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim lives and left millions of people displaced and desolate. The war’s impact was felt across the world with both Eastern and Western nations involved in the negotiations for a resolution,” said Abraham.
The actor plays the role of Captain Vikram Singh, a successful Para Military Officer recruited by the RAW’s (India’s external security agency) Indian head Robin Dutt (RD) — with the mandate to execute certain covert intelligence operations in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, and conduct peaceful provincial council elections.
Abraham said actress Nargis plays a bold role in the movie. “She is a journalist named Jaya. Vikram and Jaya together go about finding the truth amongst a complex web of lies and deceit, and begin telling the world their incredible story,” he said.
Commenting on remarks likening his look in the movie to Tom Hank’s look in “Cast Away,” he said: “Deciding on my look for the movie was quite challenging. It took lot of brain storming and we finalized this messy look, which apparently you think is inspired by Tom, but actually it’s not.”
Asked if the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa secretly financed Madras Café, the actor said: “This is a false statement. Viacom 18 is the official producer of Madras Café.”