'Chennai Express' comes with its own contrivances. There is an over-dragged plot which is nothing but a bundle of clichés all aimed against the South Indians and multiple overlong jokes. If this was a seventies flick, it would well have been called 'Uttar aur Dakshin' (I over-imagine terribly).
But it is also guilty pleasure, because its jokes are funny and the romance between Rahul and Meenamma is breezy. Shahrukh Khan has been overpowered by Deepika Padukone who also delivers constantly, especially in the second half. Its emotional bits, somewhere, though largely never, do get where they want to. The use of accented, well-done Tamil is what I found great. It's a fun mass movie which goes in exciting directions, even when it finds comfort in the familiar and overstays its welcome.

shahrukh performance is excellent ,different kind of movie in recent times

Finally Eid is upon us & unlike the previous years, we have a SRK movie hitting the screens rather than Salman's. After the disappointing "Jab Tak Hai Jaan", SRK join hands with Rohit Shetty in the company of Deepika Padukone for "Chennai Express". The expectations are nigh high after all Rohit Shetty is the king of "no brainer entertainers" with an enviable track record. With the film already having an unprecedented wide release in 3500 screens in 10 different languages, it should have the records toppling left & right. Being not a great fan of Rohit's no brainers, I just hope it isnt the same old stuff. Hmm...let's see...

Rahul (Oh SRK, back to his favourite screen name for the umpteenth time) is entrusted to fulfill the last wishes of his grandfather to have his ashes immersed in Rameshwaram. Though he embarks on this journey with an alternate plan in mind, it all goes topsy turvy thanks to Meenamma (Deepika) who is being escorted back to her village in Tamil Nadu against her wishes for marriage by her cousin brothers. Meenamma hatches a get away plan with Rahul, but will they manage to escape from the clutches of her father???

Frankly speaking, I have never been a fan of Rohit Shetty films except for "Singham" which I enjoyed even more than the original. It's common knowledge that his brand of film making involves gravity defying stunts & brainless comedies...in short, a complete masala entertainer, which has a lot of takers as evidenced by the number of blockbusters he has to his name. Over here as well, the story isn't much different except that it's far more sensible than his other ventures. There are some genuinely hilarious scenes but quite a few were repeated which gets irritating after a point like the conversation conveyed through songs or the oft repeated "Dont underestimate..." dialogue.

SRK has done an impressive job especially in the parts he makes mockery of himself, though there are quite a couple of scenes where he overacts. Deepika has done total justice to her role & stays toe to toe with the superstar. As opposed to Rohit's other films, the action sequences are quite minimal with the climax stunt being well choreographed. Vishal Shekhar's music rocked with "Titli" &"1234" being my personal favourites while Dudley's visuals were breathtaking at times.

Verdict: Pre-release hype, catchy music & unprecedented number of release centres will ensure that the film takes an earth shattering initial. In all probability, it will break all existing records & will be marching its way towards 200C in the long run. From a personal point of view, it's just about average but definitely better than the usual buffonery of Rohit's films!!!

Rating: 2.25/5

Regards...Ben