The plot is simple enough - Rahul is an orphan raised lovingly by his grandparents. When his granddad passes away - a day shy of 100 - it is his last wish that his ashes be immersed in Rameshwaram. Rahul, on the other hand, is in a hurry to make up for his lost years - he plans to bring in his 40th birthday in Goa, and he's sure that Dadaji would understand. He cooks up an elaborate scheme to hoodwink his trusting grandmother - getting on the Chennai Express, fully intending to get off at the next station to meet his friends and drive to Goa - but fate intervenes in the form of Meenamma...
What follows is unarguably the funniest sequence in the movie - Rahul in the train, leaning out to give a hand to a beautiful damsel in distress, his cheeky 'Maine pehle bhi kiya hai' (I've done this before), the DDLJ signature tune playing in the background! And then, the same sequence with a burly goon - and again, and again - until Rahul has helped 4 more people onto the train, and is now too late to get off himself! I loved the nostalgic self-referencing, and the spoof had me in splits! And the gags keep coming - Rahul and Meena communicating by singing Hindi songs, the Tamil-Hindi lost in translation misunderstandings, Rahul's false bravado in the train - any other actor would have had me rolling my eyes, but only Shahrukh can turn the most absurd, ludicrous slapstick into highly entertaining scenes!
Needless to say, Chennai Express is a complete SRK fest! The surprise is Deepika - she more than holds her own with her spot-on Tamil accent! Her wardrobe deserves a special mention, too - gorgeous, gorgeous sarees, and what's more, she stays in her sarees even in the de rigueur dream sequence! After so many pretentiously over-styled movies of late, this film is like a fresh breath of air! Director Rohit Shetty showcases southern India beautifully, and while the picturesque villages are obviously sets, some of the locales are absolutely stunning - most notable, the bridge over the waterfall where the Chennai Express stops to let off Meena's gang - nothing short of breathtaking!
Akin to most Bollywood films, the songs add absolutely nothing to the narrative! They are beautifully picturized though, especially the 'Kashmir mein, tu Kanyakumari' number - very vibrant, very colorful! As expected, '1 2 3 4' and 'Lungi Dance' are instant chartbusters - very smart to have a musical tribute to Rajnikanth in a movie with such a Tamil feel - I kept waiting for the Thalaiva himself to make a special appearance! 'Titli' and 'Tera Raasta', the 2 romantic numbers are what you would expect - slow music with soulful lyrics! Again, the flavor of all the songs is very Indian, and so is the choreography - doesn't get any more desi than this!
It's not all smooth sailing though - actually, in one of the worst moments in the movie, SRK does end up in a sailboat! The humor is quite crass at times - and I absolutely did not get the point of the scene with the dwarf and the clicking! No Rohit Shetty movie is complete without car chases, cars blowing up in slo-mo, and the most gory fights - Chennai Express is no exception! Also, the narrative would have us believe that the devoted grandson, Rahul, would casually blow off his grandparent's wishes to go party with his friends - and then have an improbable change of heart towards the end, giving an impassioned speech about women's rights, the North-South divide, India's numerous problems and that too, in flawless Tamil! Rahul can be identified with as long he is embodying the common man - when he fights off an entire village, takes a beating severe enough to kill a person over a dozen times, and still stands up to defend himself - yawn, not impressed! Couldn't the script writers come up with a better plan to have Rahul make his point?
Flaws aside, Chennai Express is a completely feel-good movie. Bright, cheerful (for the most part), family friendly - what more can you ask for? Oh yes, SRK of course! So, go ahead and watch the movie! You'll definitely walk out withe a smile on your face! Chal-lo!!
