Chennai Express Review

This is an unpretentious, harmless spoof of south Indian cinema at its most bizarre. The film is not up for any debate. Having laughed his way to the Bank with Singhamam, he decides to take pot shots and harmless ones at that on tne exaggerated style. Be it the of SUVs, the high voltage gang fights with axes aplenty, the large large families bursting in the seems with goodness aplenty each aspect is picked with the élan of a Sai Paranjapee. Only the genre at the which the spoof is aimed is different. (Remember the original Chasme Badoor!!) So let go your thinking caps and settle down with the large bucket of popcorn and laugh your way for a good part of the 142 minutes. Rohit Shetty has always claimed that he made a kind of cinema. He is obviously enjoying a go up mode and is in fine form.
Not surprisingly, the story is not what you have to talk about here. Simply told Rahul (Shahrukh Khan) at the diktat of Dadi (Kamini Kaushal) is required to immerse the ashes of grandpa who like Sachin got out at 99. Set to go to Rameshwaram, his friends decide that Goa is the place as the beach waters would any way reach Rameshwaram. Rahul takes the Chennai Express and here begins the journey to disaster.
Rahul helps Meenamma (Deepika) alight the moving train ala DDLJ and soon has a whole team of hooligans to whom the same benefit is extended. As things transpire, Meena is on the run refusing to marry Dad’s chosen bridegroom and the goons are her dad’s henchmen who are behind her. Dad (Satyaraj) is the local Goon and his writ runs large. For starts even the train stops as a matter of practice in his village when he wants it and the entire village is on the railway tracks to bring home the daughter on the run.
At the spur of the moment Meenamma tells dad that Rahul is the guy who loves her and thus the suitor Tangaballi (Nikitin Dheer) will have to give way. Obviously all are not satisfied. The entire film is about how the two eventually fall in love and every one from their respective stances accept the two some. Their escapades and their adventures is what the script is fully about.
With language being a barrier, the fun element lingers there for a while. The guy and gal on the run with hordes of villains chasing them is fun as long as it lasts. The timing is superb, the humour harmless. Cinematography (Dudley) is amazing. Very early in the film the way Rohit interpolates the happenings in the train with the scenic outside sets the tempo. The script is racy. It is only when later the film maker falls a temptation to his own spoof that the credibility and the narration takes a beating. The romance could have been seamless.
The laugh riot is engaging and invokes instant reactions of great laughter often from the crowd and this means Rohit is all set to strengthen his place in 100 Crores club. If, if only he had steered clear of the soppy romance part the pic would have even laid claims to being a classic spoof. Rohit Shetty is a blast and is in great form with his one liners and stand up humour. If you thought Deepika looked gorgeous in her hot pants watch out for this one. She is amazing in her saries and has taken her acting skills up a few notches. She has actually begun to act. Shahrukh Khan has a role just made for him. With no restraint he just has to ham with no restraint and what more can he ask for!! His fans would sure love this journey with him where things go wrong because they have to.
The journey is all fine and speed filled till the near end when Rohit decides to move from speed gauge to romance. Even otherwise, take your ticket and travel light on this trip.

L. Ravichander.