Chennai Express

Chennai Express
Theatrical release poster with the original release date
Directed by	Rohit Shetty
Screenplay by	Yunus Sajawal
Story by	K. Subaash
Produced by	Gauri Khan Ronnie Screwvala Siddharth Roy Kapur
Starring	Deepika Padukone Shahrukh Khan
Cinematography	Dudley
Edited by	Steven H. Bernard
Music by	Vishal–Shekhar
Production company	Red Chillies Entertainment
Distributed by	UTV Motion Pictures
Release dates	8 August 2013 (2013-08-08) (United Kingdom, United States) 9 August 2013 (2013-08-09) (Worldwide)
Running time	141 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹750−900 million (US$−11 million)

Chennai Express is an 2013 Indian action comedy film directed by Rohit Shetty and produced by Gauri Khan under her production banner Red Chillies Entertainment. The film features Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in lead roles. This is the second collaboration between Khan and Padukone after the 2007 blockbuster Om Shanti Om and the first between Khan and Rohit Shetty. Chennai Express is about a man's journey from Mumbai to Rameshwaram and what happens along the way after he falls in love with the daughter of a local don. Principal photography began on 27 September 2012. Filming began in October 2012 and was wrapped-up by May 2013. The film released one day earlier in the United Kingdom and the United States on 8 August 2013 and worldwide on 9 August 2013.

Cast

• Deepika Padukone as Meena Lochni
• Shahrukh Khan as Rahul
• Sathyaraj as Durgeshwara Azhagusundaram, Meena's father
• Nikitin Dheer as Tangaballi
• Manorama as Meena's aunt
• Priyamani in the item number "1 2 3 4... Get on the Dance Floor"
• Kamini Kaushal
• Lekh Tandon

Production

Development

Sandeep Mishra and Rohit Shetty had originally planned to team up for a remake of the 1982 film Angoor. After the 2011 blockbuster Singham, Rohit Shetty had begun writing the script of the film but left it mid-way. Incidentally, he had the script of Chennai Express ready to be narrated to Khan as a back-up due to the difficulty of obtaining the actor's filming dates. Upon being narrated the script, Khan was impressed with the idea of Chennai Express and agreed to star in it before the Angoor remake. With this development, the remake of Angoor was pushed back. When Rohit was asked about the story of the film, he said, "It's a hard-core commercial film with a romantic angle. The story is about this man's travel from Mumbai to Rameshwaram and what happens during the journey."

Casting

Shah Rukh Khan was the first actor to be approached with the script, and hence the first lead actor to be signed for the film. Incidentally, Rohit stated that despite the title, Shah Rukh would not play the role of a South Indian in the film. The casting of the lead heroine was speculated for a good deal of time. Names such as Kareena Kapoor, Asin Thottumkal and Deepika Padukone were rumored by the media. In an interview, a visibly angry Shetty denied all rumors surrounding the leading heroine, stating that the cast would be finalized in April 2012 and that he was going to cast an established actress as the leading lady. However, in October, 2012, it was confirmed that Deepika Padukone had been signed to play the lead opposite Shah Rukh Khan, when stills were released from the set showing Padukone and Khan shooting. This would be her second film opposite Shah Rukh Khan, with whom she made her Bollywood debut with in the 2007 blockbuster Om Shanti Om. Rohit Shetty wanted Manorama to play Deepika Padukone's aunt. Sathyaraj was later cast to play the role of Deepika's father and the main antagonist of Chennai Express. Actress Priyamani was signed late January 2013 for an item number in the film.

Characters

Rahul, played by Shah Rukh Khan is a North Indian bachelor who stays with his grandparents in Mumbai. Rahul couldn’t get married to anyone because of his over-loving and over possessive Grandfather who cannot live without him. Rahul accidentally boards a train that not only takes him to his destination, but also makes him realise the power of True Love!.

Meena, played by Deepika Padukone is very fondly referred to as Meenamma by her loved ones. She is a South Indian lady who stays in Komban village with her huge family. She lost her mother when she was a child.

Mr. Dugeshwara, played by Sathyaraj is a very well-known don in Komban village. He is Meenamma’s father and is very protective about her.

Tangaballi, played by Nikitin Dheer is a don of another village. Meenamma’s father is very fond of him.

Filming

The filming began at Mehboob Studio in Mumbai on 5 October 2012 . The lead actor was dressed in black casuals and the actress in a South Indian attire, wearing Kanjeevaram saree. Filming was done at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station with minimum crew members. These working stills of the lead actor were unofficially released in mid-October 2012. In November 2012, the cast and crew was off to Goa for the first filming schedule. The railway station of Vasco da Gama was used as a double up, portraying Kalyan. A romantic scene on board a train passing next to Dudhsagar Falls was also shot. In December 2012, the team was off to Jakarta for some scenes. By early January 2013, the next schedule was supposed to happen in Ooty but Khan opined that the opted place would be too far from commercial venue, Mumbai. Hence, recreation of the lanes of Ooty along with some of its tourist spots, was constructed as a set on the outskirts of Panchgani in Wai by art director Narendra Ruharikar. It took over 40 days to make the set at an estimated cost of ₹1.5 crore (US$180,000). The Wai schedule of filming ran for entire month of March 2013. A 10-day shooting schedule began in Munnar, Kerala from mid of April 2013, scenes were canned at Devikulam Lake, Meesapulimala, Wagavara and Kannimala. The shoot had to be stopped for a few days due to the heavy rainfall and the schedule was slightly extended until end of the same month. A press conference was also held in the town Munnar. In May 2013, certain scenes were canned in North Goa The lead actress wrapped up all her portions of shoot on 25 May 2013. Khan flew to Hyderabad by end of May 2013 for remaining filming.

Release

"Shah Rukh Khan has a strong fanbase and the demand for the movie is enormous overseas. We are releasing the movie in over seven non-traditional markets and the movie will also witness a day and date release for the first time in Peru for any Hindi film."

—Amrita Pandey, Executive Director, (Syndication, International Distribution and Disney Media Distribution), Studious, Disney UTV, said in a statement.

Chennai Express had paid previews in India on August 8,2013 with 10-12 shows at multiplexes.

"The jump in weekday ticket prices is largely due to the fact that currently they are sold at a lower price. Eid has been traditionally good for business and during the Eid week, we expect to sell more tickets than we do in a full month otherwise. A Shah Rukh Khan film is coming after nine months and history shows that Rohit Shetty's films have not gone wrong at the box office."

—Anand Vishal, Head of Operations, Fun Cinemas told Mirror.

Chennai Express, besides domestic and usual international markets, is scheduled to release in non-traditional international markets. In Peru, it is the first Hindi film to release on the same day as in India. Earlier, Shah Rukh Khan-starrer My Name Is Khan and Hrithik Roshan-starrer Guzaarish opened as delayed releases in Peru. The film is also releasing in Morocco, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France and Israel.

The price of tickets for Chennai Express will cost upto 40 per cent more than usual tariff. The raise, which includes 40 per cent increase in ticket prices during the weekday shows and up to a 20 per cent hike over the weekend, will not be uniform across all multiplexes. Increasing ticket prices around festivals is not unusual but this much raise is uncommon.

Statistics

The film will be released in 3,500 screens in India and 700 screens internationally (including 195 screens in the United States, 175 in the United Kingdom, 55 in the Middle East and 30 in Australia), making it the widest Bollywood release of all time.

Marketing

The first look of Chennai Express was revealed on 1 January 2013. A thirty-one seconds title track teaser sung by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam was released on 23 May 2013. The official trailer of the film was released at an event in Mumbai on 13 June 2013. Trailer of Chennai Express has crossed the 4 million mark on YouTube just two days after its launch. The game developed by Disney UTV's digital wing, titled "Chennai Express: Escape from Rameshwaram" was launched on 24 July 2013 featuring Shahrukh Khan & Deepika Padukone. It takes the player on a roller-coaster ride where he has to fight off goons and dodge obstacles like trucks, buses, cars, coconut carts, etc. to collect more than 10,000 coins so as to unlock Deepika Padukone's game avatar. The outfits donned by Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in the film will be auctioned, and proceedings from the sale will go for a charity. The auction will take place around the day of its release.

Controversies

Chennai Express along with Akshay Kumar starrer Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai Dobara have been abandoned by Pakistani distributors and exhibitors in the interest of four of their films releasing on the same day.During its Wai schedule of filming, the film's unit ran in trouble for over use of water from Dhom Dam in drought-hit Satara district of Maharashtra. The state's Relief and Rehabilitation minister Patangrao Kadam raised his concern for the same.

Chennai Express Poster and Trailer that have been released on Twitter and YouTube, are criticized by some film makers of South India for being deliberately demeaning to Tamil Culture and Tamil Language.The accent used by Deepika Padukone resembles Malayalam accent rather than Tamil, according to them.One poster of the film features Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in 'lungi' while another shows wrestler like people in the background. The posters seem a deliberate effort to give a South Indian touch to the name of the film. Padukone however defended the film, claiming that it does not spoof South Indian culture and adding that nearly the entire crew (including herself) are South Indians, she said, "Why would we spoof our own culture?"

Adopting an aggressive stance on Wednesday, 31 July 2013 the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Chitrapat Sena (Film Wing) threatened to disrupt and stop its release on 8 August as it reportedly attempted to dislodge ongoing popular Marathi movies from single-screen cinemas in the state. The party was upset with reports that the Rohit Shetty directed movie had demanded prime slots in single screen cinemas and even some multiplexes in the state where the superhit Marathi movie Duniyadari has been running to packed houses since 19 July. Later, on 1 August 2013, both the film directors, Rohit Shetty and Sanjay Jadhav were called on Raj Thackeray to hammer out a solution. After listening to both parties, Thackeray ruled that if Duniyadari was not removed from single screen cinemas across the state, then the MNS would not object to the release and run of Chennai Express in Maharashtra.

Music

Untitled

The music and background score of the film is composed by the duo Vishal-Shekhar. Amitabh Bhattacharya stamped his lyrics in the album. Recording of the songs began in late October 2012. The track "Ready Steady Po" was attributed as "insane" by the music composers and was recorded by November 2012. Several sources claimed that the director and actor were unsatisfied with the score of the film and hence the former were reported to rework entirely. However, the composers denied all such rumors. In mid-April 2013, singer S. P. Balasubrahmanyam recorded the title track for the film, marking his return to Bollywood for playback post fifteen years. He claimed the song celebrates the spirit of togetherness. Initially, the singer was apprehensive but opted to sing considering the content and leads of the film. The song "1 2 3 4 get on the dance floor" was released as a promotional single on World Music Day. On 27 June 2013, the video promo of the song "Titli" was released and on 11 July 2013, the promo video of "Kashmir Main Tu Kanyakumari" was released. On 19 July 2013, T-Series has uploaded a song on its official channel of You Tube named as "Lungi Dance" sung by Honey Singh. On 25 July 2013 a promo video of the song "Tera Rasta Main Chhodoon Na" was released.

The music album was launched on 1 July 2013.

Tracklist

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"1 2 3 4 Get On The Dance Floor"	Vishal Dadlani, Hamsika Iyer, Sricharan Kasturirangan	3:48
2.	"Titli"	Gopi Sunder, Chinmayi Sripaada	5:50
3.	"Tera Rastaa Chhodoon Na"	Anusha Mani, Amitabh Bhattacharya	4:13
4.	"Kashmir Main Tu Kanyakumari"	Sunidhi Chauhan, Arijit Singh, Neeti Mohan	5:07
5.	"Ready Steady Po"	Vishal Dadlani, Brodha V & Smokey of Machas With Attitude, Enkore, Natalie Di Luccio	4:50
6.	"Chennai Express"	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Jonita Gandhi	3:37
7.	"Titli (Dubstep Version)"	Zoheb Khan, Phoenyx	3:40
8.	"Chennai Express (Mashup)"	DJ Kiran Kamath	3:53
9.	"Lungi Dance"	"Yo Yo Honey Singh"	4:36
Total length:			39:34

Critical response

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Devesh Sharma (Filmfare)
Indo-Asian News Service (CNN-IBN)
Yashika Mathur (Daily News and Analysis)
Joginder Tuteja (Rediff)

The soundtrack album of Chennai Express received positive reviews. Devesh Sharma of Filmfare gave the album 4/5, saying, "Go for this robust offering, which is full of new sounds and zany surprises. Vishal-Shekhar have shown that they haven’t let the film’s comic nature hinder their creativity. It’s their strength and they should never let go of this quality. And should catch some more Titlis too…"

Indo-Asian News Service posting on CNN-IBN gave the album 3.5/5 and said that "Here's another winner from Vishal-Shekar. It is likely to appeal music lovers of all age-groups and sentiments. An entertaining all-rounder, the composers must be applauded for fusing different music and beats to pep up the otherwise usual Bollywood music."

Yashika Mathur of Indo Asian News Service gave the album 3.5/5 and stating, "Rohit Shetty's much-awaited entertainer Chennai Express boasts of a soothing bouquet of typical Bollywood numbers and some peppy tracks with exceptional mixing."

Joginder Tuteja of Rediff.com gave the album 3/5 and wrote, "Rohit Shetty is said to have kept the narrative of Chennai Express quite fast -paced, and the music should complement that overall flavour of the film."

Anand Holla of Mumbai Mirror has said that "It's easy to imagine director Rohit Shetty's crystal clear brief to Vishal-Shekhar, involving words such as catchy, peppy, fun, and of course 'hit songs'. Given how happily formulaic the soundtrack has turned out, V-S have given us a fair idea of what awaits us this Eid."

Critical reception

Chennai Express received mixed reviews from critics in India and abroad.

India

Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the movie 4/5 stars and wrote "On the whole, CHENNAI EXPRESS has the trademark Rohit Shetty stamp all over. You seek entertainment, entertainment and entertainment in a film like CHENNAI EXPRESS and the movie lives up to the hype and hoopla surrounding it."Rachit Gupta of Filmfare rated the movie 4/5 stars, stating, " It’s peppered with humorous set pieces and colourful locales and songs. Rohit Shetty makes chettinad-style masala movies. And that’s the perfect description of this film. If you don’t plan to engage in a multi-lateral critique of dramatic elements and narrative, this film can be fun."Sarita Tanwar Of DNA gave the movie 3.5/5 stars and said that, "This is a treat for all Hindi film lovers. It has it all you'd expect from a big commercial masala film. It has all the ingredients -- big star cast, drama, action, comedy, songs, the car chases and the big finish, all delivered in Rohit Shetty's unapologetic ishtyle...Overall, this is a bubblegum blockbuster. Meena Iyer of Times Of India gave the movie 3.5/5 stars, saying, "Chennai Express (CE) is a magnificently mounted film. In an ode to his own cinema—read Golmaal series, Bol Bachchan, Rohit Shetty ishstyle, the director, who has grossers in Bollywood's 100-crore club, ups the scale for his Eid offering." Nabanita of OneIndia gave the movie 3/5 stars and posted, "Chennai Express is a light-hearted entertainer, that stands strong and tall on the shoulders of the super powerful 'Brand Shahrukh Khan'...In one word, this one is a total paisa vasool entertainer." Mohar Basu of Koimoi gave the movie 3/5 stars, stating "Rohit Shetty’s Chennai Express is regurgitation of his trademark style that comprises his repertoire of work ... [Chennai Express] is a must watch entertaining flick that will juggle between romance, humor and action and is enjoyable for its run time!" Subhash K. Jha of IANS gave the movie 3/5 stars, stating, "Dammit! No out-takes!! Is this really a Rohit Shetty film? Every film of the "Gol Maal" director has so far ended with out-takes giving us entertaining glimpses from during the making of the film. Here those trademark Shetty out-takes are replaced by a Honey Singh track which celebrates Rajnikanth and the lungi." Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the movie 3/5 stars and said that, "The whole-hearted zeal that SRK and Deepika bring to the table and the steady flow of funny one-liners serve Shetty’s purpose well, turning Chennai Express into an elopement-against-all-odds rigmarole that hits the right buttons at most turns." Zee News rated the movie 3/5 stars, stating, "... If you ignore the few clichés (the repetition of ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’ scenes and the lines that we have heard SRK speaking in his popular films), the lack of punch in the script and even the high predictability factor, then you are onboard for a fun ride with ‘Chennai Express’!" India Today gave the film 3 stars: "The good news first. "Chennai Express" is a pleasant and likable film in parts. The bad news is, it does nothing for Shah Rukh Khan's imdomitable star power except to tell us he can still play a 40-year Rahul without faltering." Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave the movie 2.5/5 stars, and wrote, "Still, this is a pair trying to have some fun, and coming up with some genuinely funny moments. Padukone looks lovely and sticks to a spunky over –the- topness, and doesn't waver, till she's made to go all emotional. That's when her graph dips. That's when Shah Rukh's raffish charm slips. And that is also when `Chennai Express' derails. And wannakum becomes wannago." Abhishek Gupta of India TV gave it 2.5 stars and wrote, "The comedy along with the action is rarely served with equal entertainment in today’s cinema. We discern Rohit Shetty for his mass leisure which includes cars fluttering from the unknown corners and comedy which isn’t slapstick but works." Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com gave the film 2.5 stars, saying "Chennai Express evokes a few laughs but otherwise it decides to shift tracks from droll comedy to dreadful drama." Khalid Mohamed of Deccan Chronicle gave the film 2.5 stars and commented "board Chennai Express at your own risk." Mayank Shekhar of Dainik Bhaskar rated it 1 (out of 5) stars, saying "You’ve paid for the ticket? Yes. Now just sit back and suffer."

Overseas

Rachel Saltz of The New York Times wrote, "Chennai Express” feels like a sumptuous meal with carefully chosen wine and tasty appetizers but a botched main course. Money and visual care have been lavished on this Bollywood action-comedy-romance and glossy stars engaged (Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone). But the movie chugs along for most of its 2 hours and 20 minutes searching for comedy and characters in a frantically overplotted story." Sneha May Francis of Emirates 24/7 wrote "Rohit Shetty’s s(h)tyle of romance relies heavily on buffoonery and will be applauded mainly by Shah Rukh Khan loyalists". She added "Rohit’s carnival-like comedy coaxes some laughs, but can leave you exhausted." Sneha argued that Deepika's perfomance "outshines" that of Shahrukh in the movie.

Box office

Chennai Express collected very well in paid previews on Thursday. According to Box Office India, the total collections were around 6 crore. Chennai Express has collected an average of Rs. 33.12 crore on the first day its opening.

External links

• Official website
• Chennai Express at IMDb
• Chennai Express at Bollywood Hungama