India, June 7 -- When we peruse the newspaper each morning, there are some human-interest stories that resonate with us and cheer us up. And there are other stories that you see unfolding right before your eyes in the lives of people around you, which strike a chord. Films like Kudumbasthan and Tourist Family all explore the lives and struggles of middle-class families, and Madras Matinee, directed by Karthikeyan Mani, falls in that category.

The story is narrated by sci-fi writer Jyoti Ramayya (Sathyaraj). He is asked to write a book about people in real life rather than fantasy, and he decides to take us through the story of Kannan (Kaali Venkat), a lower-middle-class auto driver and garbage collector. Ramayya starts off by telling us ...