Chennai Express

Just returned home after watching first show of CE. first half is superb, SRK impresses with his comic role, makes u remember his movies like bad shah, duplicate. There are almost no songs in first half, which is great. Problems comes in second half, typical Bollywood problem, song after song. It makes the film drag. For first half i will give 4.5 out of 5 stars and for second half 2.5 out of 5. I don't think this movie will have repeat audience like 3 idiots. But people will definitely enjoy it at least once. My only disappointment was second half. Watch CE if you are a SRK or Deepika fan, you will not get disappointed. But if you are looking for perfect then this is not the movie. But still good time pass

Since the days of Chak De India, judging his grace & his stupendous acting skills, I am a huge fan of Shah Rukh Khan. A man of substance, he shows his skills in every film through his strong dialogue delivery & a firm grip over the emotional phenomena of the film. Every film he does, he makes it new for his audience & that is what makes him a stand-out actor.

Just few hours back, I caught up with his new film released today 'Chennai Express' directed by the Singham & Golmaal director Rohit Shetty, co-starring Deepika Padukone. It showed the King of Romance in a dynamic never-seen-before avatar & some fun-rolled laughter & Rohit Shetty style action.

Not much of surprise, the film touches all the genres of Bollywood completing a circle of entertainment. The film is the mixture of both: humour as well as some serious action. Frankly, I only liked Shetty for Golmaal & Singham. I found that mostly his films lacked sensibility & displayed some mindless insensitive action. But the fact that Shah Rukh Khan is starring in it made me really look into Chennai Express. Because as far as I know SRK, he is one of intelligent brains in Bollywood & knows completely well what he is up to.

Not deviating from Chennai Express, I would like to tell about the plot. The story is about Rahul, a 40 year unmarried man, who lives with his grandparents in Mumbai. After his grandfather's death, Rahul embarks on a journey to Goa but a series of confusions & misunderstanding, he finds himself in Chennai Express, a train that brings a big turn in the life of Rahul leading him to the place where he is destined to be.

Frustrated of his misfortune about not being able to go to Goa, Rahul meets Meenama, a South Indian girl from Kumban village in Chennai. She happens to be the pivotal part of the film that changes the monotony of Rahul's life. Rahul witnesses the ticket checker of the train being thrown in the waters from running train by the Tamil goons who happen to have kidnapped Meenama, thus being the only witness to the incident. Rahul is plunged into the world where he is being pestered, troubled & led into some humorous mishap. Shetty has depicted all of this in funny way that audience find themselves having the best time of their lives.

Chennai Express is sheer entertainment with fun-filled comedy all over. There is action, romance & humour throughout the film. It will leave smiles on everyone's faces when they leave the theatre. It is very impressive and unlike all Rohit Shetty films, it has the powerful element of emotion, the element which Indian directors use to uplift their standard of cinema. The songs are combination of foot-tapping numbers as well as some melodiously extravagant songs. If you have caught up with all Rohit Shetty films, this one you will be the most satisfied with. The first time collaboration of Rohit Shetty- SRK duo will undoubtedly set the box office registers ringing.

When I went to watch Chennai Express, I had in my mind that it was a Rohit Shetty movie and hence it couldn't be very good. I knew it could be highly nonsensical. I just hoped it would've a sensible plot. And I am glad to say it does have a sensible plot. It's little forced and unconvincing at times, but it's extremely entertaining. This is the story of Rahul, played by Shah Rukh Khan, who isn't satisfied with his life. His life takes a turn, when he meets Meena, played by Deepika Padukone, on Chennai Express. In following events, the movie shifts to South India of amazingly beautiful locations and significantly developed villages. The movie though keeps delivering hilarious punches, the story gets a bit stagnant. Meanwhile the two songs, "Titli" and "Tera Rasta Chodoon Na" lend movie the romantic texture. The fighting sequence was realistic and hence very unlike the Rohit Shetty films. Talking about acting, this isn't how I would like Shah Rukh Khan to act but then it is that kind of film. Deepika Padukone is amazing in her portrayal of a Tamil girl. The music by Vishal-Shekhar is quite decent. Rohit Shetty's direction seems evolved and I think this is his best film by now. He hasn't been very good with his movies' endings but this one has a fine climax that leaves us with a smile on our face. I'll go with 7 on the scale of 10.

Director Mr. Rohit Shetty again proves that he can dig out humor from even very simple scenes. Story by K. Subash is very routine. Screenplay by Yunus Sajawal makes it interesting. Dialogues by Sajid - Farhad is witty and impressing. You can say dialogues are the best part of this film. After long time I watched a movie which is far better than its promos and trailer. This movie has more humor and romance than action except the climax. Movie would have been more interesting if creative team would have preferred to flex their brain muscles rather than flexing the body muscles in climax as it was in Singham. Action in climax makes the film exaggerated otherwise it always moves on a sweet pace. Shahrukh Khan can carry emotional scene better than the action one. Actually , he is incomparable and best in emotional scenes. Performance wise Deepika Padukone is brilliantly awesome. She acts with ease and makes the character believable. Shahrukh Khan is also commendable. His comedy timing is superb. In climax emotional speech, he is the one and only one, who could have emoted it so convincingly. Rest cast supports the film in fair manner. Music by Vishal and Shekhar is not so good at audio level but in film, it gels with mood and flow. After all one time must watch.

Reviewed by:Dare Devil Kid (DDK) Rating: 3.4/5 stars

Say what you want about Rohit Shetty, but the man sure does know to mindlessly entertain you, unlike many of his clones spawned over the past few years, who just numb your senses with their weak endeavors in trying to ape his brand of easygoing, risk-free cinema. "Chennai Express" is actually his best work since "All The Best" (though nothing compared to "All The Best"), and does have a semblance of plot and even some heart, which is usually not the case with most of his projects. The film exceeds expectations for the mere fact that it entertains you for most its duration.

Let's not even try and get into the other technical and creative aspects (or flaws) of the film, because if any of you'll went into a Rohit Shetty movie looking for a coherent plot narration or solid character development, then you'll need a serious reality check, or rather a surgical extraction of your prudish natures. The songs (barring the "1 2 3 4" number), editing, and production design are admittedly all over the place, but then again you should be well prepared to ignore these parameters. However, the background score and cinematography are surprisingly quite decent.

For his part, SRK necessarily hams it up delightfully to the hilt and renders a slightly tweaked and caricatured version of his now famous "Rahul" persona. And Deepika's acting is finally showing signs of real improvement. She literally shines in some scenes of the movie. What adds some required chutzpah to this potboiler, is the sizzling chemistry between the two. Their second film together gives sufficient indication that we might have the next hot jodi in Bollywood.

"Chennai Express" is melodramatic and over-the-top, but it certainly isn't tedious and long-drawn like most other wannabe masala films. You'll gladly lap it up over the disoriented "Bodyguards", "Ek Tha Tigers", "Singhams", "Himmatwalas", "Son Of Sardars" and "Rowdy Rathores" anyday. Most of the dialogues and gags are actually humorous and the action at the end at least makes the hero feel human (something that can't be said for the other staple masala heroes like Salman and Ajay). At the end of the day, if you don't analyze "Chennai Express" too much, you'll actually end up having quite an entertaining 140-minute ride.