Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Chennai Express has reportedly taken the box office by storm, crossing the Rs 100-crore (105 million) mark and setting other records.
Box office collections and record apart, Chennai Express is one-time watchable film that includes comic action and lots of it, packed by director Rohit Shetty's trademark banging car-chase sequences, head-on fight scenes and no hardcore violence or killing.
The story line revolves around Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan), a 40-year-old man from Mumbai, who while on his way to Rameshwaram aboard Chennai Express train meets a South Indian girl Meena (Deepika Padukone). Meena has run away from her village where her father, a don, wants to marry her off to the son of another don in a neighbouring village. Rahul eventually feels trapped protecting Meena but as the plot unfolds, he realizes her worth in his life.
Chennai Express is the latest flick to join this new genre of Bollywood films that attempt to dissolve the cultural divide of North and South India through south-inspired song and dance sequences, shooting places and portrayal of characters who hail from both the parts of India. Chennai Express too brings the colourful culture of South India to the fore but only in two song sequences. Except a soft love melody, the songs in the film are just passable. However, the background score (that says Chennai Express) don't let the viewer get bored.
Shah Rukh Khan has acted for the first time in a film of such genre and it's the actor's undying charm that makes the viewer sit through the end. His wittiness, situational comedy and one-liners (such as "Don't underestimate the power of a common man") will make his fans fall for him once again. Actress Deepika Padukone seems to be excelling in every new film. In Chennai Express, she gets into the skin of the character Meena naturally that no one would ever give it a second thought.
Loud is the word if one has to describe the comedy in the film with the exception of some unique aspects especially the scenes in which Rahul and Meena communicate in Hindi (in front of the goons who do not know the language) by singing on the tunes of Hindi songs. The sequences make you giggle. Deepika Padukone surely takes the credit for lifting the humour with her accented dialogues and promptness.
Being a Rohit Shetty film, Chennai Express has moved on to some extent in cinematography. The film takes you to some of the most beautiful and easy to identify locales of South India mainly Dudhsagar Falls in Karnataka, tea gardens of Munnar in Kerala and the lakeside retreat of Panchgani hill station in Maharashtra – all of them shot beautifully.
Chennai Express has perhaps only one loose end: the romantic chemistry between Meena and Rahul. This is more disheartening because romance is expected to rule when Shah Rukh Khan-starrers are released. Often dubbed as the King of Romance, Shah Rukh Khan fails to ignite a romantic spark in his character. Blame it on the 20-year age gap between the star pair (Khan at 47 and Padukone at 27) or the aging looks of Khan (he does look his age in the film), fans who are looking forward to the lover boy image of Shah Rukh Khan, may get disappointed.
Nevertheless, it's Rahul's confession about his love for Meena in the last scene that does the entire patch up. Even if Rahul knows that Meena loves him, he dutifully asks if she will marry him because he says a woman's wish and consent is above all things in the world – this one portrayal of Rahul's character brings back the essence of being the king of romance to the front, and you are left speechless.
| 'Chennai Express' breaking records in U.S. and India alike |
Although it's only been in theaters since August 8, the action comedy film Chennai Express is smashing records across the globe ' posting huge numbers in India, the U.K., and the U.S. According to reports, Chennai Express has been steamrolling the competition since pulling in a record $24.5 million during the film's opening weekend in India. Additionally, the film posted the best debut ever for a Bollywood film in the U.S. and also had one of the highest debuts for a Bollywood film in the U.K. Screening in just 196 theaters in the U.S. over three days, Chennai Express took in more than $2.2 million ' an average of $11,352 per screen, according to Yahoo! Directed by Rohit Shetty, Chennai Express stars Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone, both of whom are household names to Indian movie buffs. The film centers around a man's journey from Mumbai to Rameshwaram and what happens after he falls in love with the daughter of a local don. Similar to other Bollywood movies, Chennai Express features a bit of everything ' romance, laughs, action, and dancing. And it's this diverse spread of entertainment options that has attracted audiences of all ages and interests across the globe. Although he called the popular response a "bit of a surprise," Lokesh Dhar, executive director of Disney-owned UTV, which co-produced the film, said the movie was intended for a large audience ' especially in Southeast Asia. "We targeted Southeast Asian audiences almost exclusively," Dhar told Yahoo! "And that includes Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans, and Bangladesh, so it's not a small group." |
Okay guys.. we didn't finish watching it. Surprisingly I was the one who wanted to continue watching it but my mom and cousins didn't. I'll probably watch it alone at home some other day.
The point is that we couldn't understand 60% of what the people were talking about because we don't understand Tamil. And we don't like watching films with subtitles or we were just not used to it idk. This was definitely the first film that I've ever seen in Bollywood with so much of South Indian flavour.
I really liked the beginning, the way they played DDLJ's tune.. sigh, memories. And then the part where SRK goes like.. I am Rahul and I am not a terrorist. Oh and where he says: MAIN SRI LANKAN HOON. Main.. Sri Devi hoon 🤣
SRK's comic timing is so amazing, though he went OTT at times but still.. I enjoyed watching his parts. I liked Deepika too, to me her Tamil pronunciation seemed good even though I don't know the language.
Originally posted by: StevieG786
Was forced to watch it again today by a friend who offered to pay for my cinema ticket, 3 times in less then a week. Another record added to the Chennai Express train!!
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