Movie Review- Chennai Express

Come fall in love, Rohit Shetty style is exactly what the much awaited film Chennai Express is all about. So after a very very long time we have a love story where there is a Hero, Rahul ( Naam toh suna hoga) our very own Shah Rukh Khan, the gracious heroine, Meena Lochini ( Deepika Padukone) a big, dangerous villain, Tangaballi (Nikitin Dheer) and then there is a chase for love amongst the many car chases. Chennai Express is more like a celebration of all the films Shah Rukh has done till now. It's fun, its zany, its happy.

 

Get on the train baby and when Rahul boards Chennai Express by fluke, begins a journey he never wanted to travel.  

Chennai Express is a blatant attempt on entertaining the audience and it achieves its motive. It is pure commercial entertainment and is a film which is not looking to be judged. It is loud, it is overt at times, but it at least promises a smile throughout.

The films starts when Rahul's grandfather passes away and he is sent to Rameswaram to let go of his ashes as it was his last wish. Enters Meena Lochini  and the drama starts to unfold. Oh, yes. Unlike other SRK flicks love at first sight does not happen here. The duo fights like cat and mouse and that's where all the fun lies. Meena is trying to escape from her family and meets Rahul on the train. Yes, we have seen a similar plot in Jab We Met but this runaway Tamilian and the very naughty Rahul strike a completely different note in this one.

Talking about locations, Munnar has been shot very well in the film and it looks absolutely beautiful. When talking about a Rohit Shetty film and not speak of cars exploding… well, how can we do that?

Some of the action sequences would definitely catch your eye. Especially the one when our macho Rahul makes a jeep flip a complete circle right in front of your eyes. Woooh!

People who love Shah Rukh and his whacky side would have a blast watching this one. REMEMBER, not to take this one seriously.

Deepika Padukone on the other hand has done a hands down job at playing a Tamilian in the film. She's got the correct hang of the accent and looks absolutely marvellous in those sarees and gajras in the hair. She is wonderful as Meena Lochini and we just love it when Shah Rukh refers to her as Meenama in the entire film.

Nikitin Dheer, who plays the big, dangerous, strong villain in the film has something about him. He is big and gives Shah Rukh a tough fight, quite literally in some of the last pieces of the film. Oh, the punches, the kicking…reminiscing old DDLJ days. Well, a lot would do and at many places.

Even though there are a lot of dialogues in Tamil, but people who do not understand the language need not worry, our male protagonist does not know the language as well and that's where all the impish jokes start. The disadvantage of not knowing Tamil has been used quite well by Rohit and it is one of the reasons for us to laugh.

The acceptance of the protagonist as a 40 year old man works in favour rather than a disadvantage as we see and appreciate what we see on screen rather than contemplate the age of the character.

Quite obviously this film is not the love saga which Shah Rukh is used to. This is an entertainer that makes you laugh on random things, smile throughout and when it ends you do look forward for the much appreciated song, Lungi Dance.

One major flaw which I found in the film was the division of songs in the first half and the second half. The first half only has one song whereas there are 3 back to back almost similar love tracks in a gap of 10-15 minutes in the second half. It ends at a decent length and on a happy foot tapping note.

Over all, Chennai Express is an out and out entertainer and is suited for everyone in the family, the kids, the parents, the teenagers and even the grandparents. It is not the love story of the century. It might not be classic but deserves a watch.