Shetty teams up with Shahrukh Khan for the
first time in Chennai Express, a movie which
has a distinct Tamil flavor as there are many
prominent actors from the Tamil space
making an appearance in the movie.
The plot is about Rahul, a 40 year old
Mumbaikar who is down on luck when it
comes to romance. After the death of his 99
year old grandfather, his grandmother wants
him to travel to Rameshwaram down South,
to immerse his grandfather’s ashes.
Here begins his tryst with Chennai Express,
as he encounters Meenamma and her goon
cousins. After this, it’s a cat and mouse
game which involves a lot of drama, running,
chasing, hiding, of course romance and the
ultimate cliched resolution.
The first half of the movie is peppered with
some comedy as the train scenes when SRK is
stuck up with the goons and the way he
communicates with Deepika through Hindi
songs are a bit funny. The little portion at
the start with the granddad, a big Sachin fan,
also makes some emotional connect.
But the main romance is lifeless, lacks depth
and we don’t root for the lovers to unite.
Therefore, even when the hero spurts out a
big emotional monologue about ‘pyaar’ and
‘bada dil’ and later unimaginably bashes his
burly enemies to pulp, we aren’t affected in
anyway.
Shahrukh is energetic as always but tries too
hard to be funny and overacts at times. The
'Don't underestimate the power of a common
man' punch dialogue is lifted by SRK's
inimitable style and charm.
Tamilians speak neither Tamil nor Hindi like
how Deepika does in the movie and this
outing is a big downer for her, after some
sterling performances in Cocktail and Yeh
Jawaani Hai Deewani. It’s an ear-sore
listening to some of the words spoken the
way, she does in the movie. Who gave the
team the idea that Deepika should speak like
this? Are there living specimens who actually
speak like her? Highly questionable.
She is all decked up in rich sarees, half-
sarees and jewels and there isn’t a trace of
Tamil nativity in her as she appears more like
a rich Malayali. The lush green surroundings,
lakes, mountains and the usage of ‘Kathakali’
elements in the songs, again add to the
Kerala 'flavour' of the movie.
Sathyaraj is just there as a puppet in few
scenes after a super build-up at the start.
Some well-known Tamil villain artistes add to
the comedy of the movie and have made a
mark. Nikitin Dheer has to be among the
most monstrous men in Indian cinema and
seeing him getting bashed by a wiry SRK in
the end, is again a typical cinematic
exercise.
The first half has just one item song
featuring Priyamani while the second half has
3 songs in quick succession and though ‘Titli’
and ‘Kashmir Main’ are hummable, the impact
on screen isn’t there. The 'Lungi Dance' at
the end is not a tribute to Rajini, but a
farce.
The film has the production values that you
would associate with an SRK, Rohit Shetty
film but the action scenes and chases could
have been done much much better given the
reputation that Rohit carries as an ace action
designer. The climax fights are so farcical
and implausible.
Added to this, we have scenes totally lifted
from landmark South movies such as Muthu
and Okkadu (Ghilli). Even North audiences
might find more than a slight resemblance to
the plot of Jab We Met.
On the whole, the film might probably work
with the family audiences, kids and the
masses looking for some mindless festival
entertainment, but there is no originality or
novelty in the movie. Given the star power
and such a wide release, the box-office might
be receptive.
Verdict: Many stereotypes and a few
segments of mindless entertainment
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