This is neither trademark SRK material nor regular Rohit Shetty action-comedy. SRK and Deepika talk in sing songs, adding impromptu Hindi dialogue to popular film numbers so that others around them can’t figure out what they’re up to. And right at the end he has an angry monologue and a very violent fight with Thangabali (Nikitin Dheer). So much so that he even has a completely deranged scene with a midget talking in gibberish. Rohit Shetty characteristically sneaks in a car chase/blow up sequence too. It makes no bones about playing to the gallery. They step a little too much on either side and chances are they’ll end up offending someone. It’s campy, it’s cute and most importantly it adds the right amount of colour to Deepika’s outlandish Meena amma character.Īs is the tradition with masala movies, they walk a very thin line. If you thought Hema Malini had an accent, you need hear this act. When SRK’s not going-all-comedic-guns-blazing, it’s Deepika Padukone muttering away to cartoonish Tamil accent glory. Good sense of humour on both SRK and director Rohit Shetty. It’s good to see a superstar take the mickey out of his own legacy. There are a few parody scenes recreated from films like DDLJ, Koyla My Name Is Khan etc. He’s on a trolley, sliding left to right on the screen, arms out stretched in copyright SRK style. It’s like a satirical homage to all his cinematic moments. Only this time it’s with a serious pinch of salt. And lots and lots of gags, most of which are amusing.Īlmost throughout the film, SRK is feeding off playing Rahul for the umpteenth time.
From there on, it turns into a full blown Tamil film, with sporadic bits of Hindi dialogue. SRK stretches out to help Deepika Padukone board the train. In throwing his grand mom off, he boards Chennai Express and then that fateful parody of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge occurs. Rahul is the smug types and promises he’d do so but is actually planning to go to Goa instead. Kamini Kaushal (playing SRK’s grand mom) makes Rahul swear that he’d immerse the ashes at Rameshwaram. It begins with Shah Rukh Khan playing Rahul and his grandfather passing away just before his 100th birthday. If you don’t plan to engage in a multi-lateral critique of dramatic elements and narrative, this film can be fun. And that’s the perfect description of this film. Rohit Shetty makes chettinad-style masala movies. It’s peppered with humorous set pieces and colourful locales and songs. Despite all its shortcomings, this is still a funny film. The story arc is so simple that you can fit it in a single tweet. More than half the film’s dialogue is in Tamil. Deepika Padukone speaks in a caricature-ish Tamil accent. Shah Rukh Khan is in full-on self deprecation mode. This film is unabashedly juvenile in its sense of humour and entertainment. Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Nikitin Dheer and SathyarajĪny attempt to intellectualise Chennai Express is futile.