Rahul handles his family’s confectionery business and is somewhat of a grandpa’s boy. As he narrates about himself in the opening scenes, we get to know that Rahul is still single because of his grandfather’s constant interferences in his social life. But on his 100th birthday, grandpa dies of a heart attack while watching Sachin Tendulkar get out on 99. Rahul takes this setback as a sign for a newfound freedom and plans to go on a road-trip to Goa. However, his grandfather wants one last favor from him: to release his ash near Rameshwaram, which unfortunately, is on the opposite coast. [break]
So Rahul cracks up a phony idea to shift the last rites to Goa. To convince his bemoaned grandmother, he boards the Chennai Express, just to get off at a nearby station and head to Goa. But nothing goes according to plans as he chances upon Meenamma (Deepika Padukone). Meenamma is running away from her father, who wants to marry her off without her consent. The runaway bride thus dooms Rahul’s trip and ticks him to pose as her lover in front of her menacing father. From then on, Rahul derails into a messy path that’s surely going to change the course of his life.
Audiences will fail to find the character of Rahul convincing because Shah Rukh plays himself in the movie. He portrays the same flamboyant and outspoken image that he broods off screen. Deepika outshines him by using her heavy South Indian accent. She grimaces while talking and uses the accent favorably to comical effect. Both of the actors play very one dimensional roles and heavily rely on witty punch lines instead of exploring their acting.
Rohit Shetty doesn’t do anything innovative in terms of storytelling. Despite the perky initial 20 minutes, where Shah Rukh Khan parodies his popular train sequence from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and particularly the scene including him bursting into Bollywood songs with Deepika to converse, the screenplay repeats the same gags again and again. The narrative is derivative of the South Indian template and follows the boy-meets-girl which has nothing unique to offer. You’ll find flying cars and physics defying action sequences that you expect from a regular Rohit Shetty film, but what works against Chennai Express is that it invests a lot of emphasis on lighter moments and the social message regarding freedom for women at the climax, comes off without any impact.
It’s a crowd pleaser but the makers have definitely underestimated the mind of a common viewer.
Screening at QFX Cinemas
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