Chennai Express review: A typical sambar-and-sandalwood creation
Film: Chennai Express
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone
Director: Rohit Shetty
Rating: ***
A scene from Chennai Express.
Chennai Express begins with the famous train sequence of DDLJ and this time it is Deepika who needs the hero's hand. Chennai Express can also be called the 'best of SRK' as its storyline has assimilated the best shots from several of his films.
2. There is another boy, Rohit Shetty. His father was a famous action director of Bollywood. Carrying the same genes, Rohit's inclination towards action was evident in his first film, Zameen. But the film fell flat on the box office and Rohit realized that action alone cannot sell, unless it is tempered with the spice of comedy and drama. This realization led to the making of several chartbusters like Golmaal series, Bol Bachchan and Singham. Chennai Express picks the best of all these films along with Shah Rukh. So there hardly was any loophole left that might have toppled the film.
3. Chennai Express is the story of Rahul who has been entrusted with the task of taking the ashes of his grandfather to Rameshwaram, by his grandmother-his sole surviving family member. Unwilling but not willing to hurt her either, Rahul decideds to go and in the journey meets the runaway Meena Amma who is fleeing to escape an unwanted wedding formalized by her don father meets Rahul in the train and then begins a saga of running, fighting, running and again fighting and then finally, in Shah Rukh's own words, everything gets all right.
4. Chennai Express uses South Indian words and anecdotes to entertain the north Indian audience for whom it is all Greek and quite funny too. Sometimes the ille-ille becomes boring, but since Rohit always makes an honest and unabashed attempt in making things funny, it does not matter so much.
A scene from Chennai Express.
5. This film has yet again included some timeless music into SRK's list. Piyamani looks ravishing in One-two-three-four and Deepika steals the show in Titli. But the songs are quite a disturbance in the storyline and they look more or less out of place. But then these are the ways of a typical Bollywood masala film!
6. Till now Rohit had confined his locations to just Mumbai and Goa, but in Chennai Express, pristine new locations of South India are presented beautifully. The rural South India is at its best on camera.
7. Rohit has used everything to add comedy to the film. There is Southern tadka, there is north Indian masala, there are dwarfs and fatsos and there is SRK doing drunken comedy. Rohit knows two things for sure, that he cannot compete with the czars of serious cinema and that the audience spends money on ticket to go home fully entertained and he had taken care of these in Chennai Express.
Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika in a scene from Chennai Express. 8. SRK is at his best in romantic scenes. But he gets this opportunity only at the end of the film. He is slightly week in comedy and quite unconvincing in action sequences. But Deepika has mastered the role of Meena. Her chemistry with SRK however is less than perfect.
9. This film has nothing sort of promoted national integration as was earlier shown in promos. Except for SRK's speech to Deepika's father in which he says love knows no boundary, religion or region. But we all know this, isn't it?
10. If you love mindless comedy, action, drama and romance and if you are willing to remove 'bakwas' word from your dictionary, you must watch this film. Your children are going to love it. Rohit Shetty has made a complete family entertainer.
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