To start with Ranjith’s choice of casting and some brilliant locale of North Madras, some power packed performances from the lead cast captivates the audience thoroughly. Karthi has done extensive work in adapting as a local chennaite, be it his body language, dialect and what not. He gives the look of “from rags to the riches”, but credit to the director for etching his role wonderfully. Catherine is fresh and lovely, and has a great talent down the lane for acting, but sure doesn’t give you the Royapuram gal feel.
The romance between the characters “Anbu” and “Mary” almost steals away the original romance of Karthi and Catherine, thanks to some impressive performances from Kalairasan and Ritwika. The tale of two groups, knifes, bloodshed and violence is what “Madras” is about, and adding a pinch of revenge in a more sensible manner saves the movie from being it called stereotypical. Santhosh Narayan’s BGM sticks to its best and there is little scope for the songs.