Chennai Express is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Rohit Shetty and produced by UTV Motion Pictures and Red Chillies Entertainment. The film stars Deepika Padukone and Shah Rukh Khan with Nikitin Dheer and Sathyaraj in supporting roles. It revolves around Rahul Mithaiwala, a businessman who accidentally boards the eponymous train and journeys from Mumbai to Rameswaram with the daughter of an influential crime boss. The film, primarily in Hindi, contains significant Tamil dialogue due to its setting in Rameswaram.
The first planned collaboration between Khan and Shetty was a remake of Angoor (1982). The script of Chennai Express, which was initially written as a backup project for Khan, was chosen instead. Conceived as a "commercial romance", the film was originally titled Ready Steady Po. Filming began in Mehboob Studio in October 2012 and was completed by May 2013. A large part of the film was set in Ooty, for which sets were constructed in Wai and also in Ramoji Film City. The soundtrack for Chennai Express was composed by Vishal–Shekhar, with the background score being composed by Amar Mohile. UTV Motion Pictures came on board as producer and distributor, marking its first active project with Khan after Swades (2004).
Chennai Express was released theatrically in international markets on 8 August 2013 and a day later in India. The film received mixed reviews from critics and it broke several box office records in India and abroad, becoming the quickest film to collect net domestically. The film surpassed 3 Idiots (2009) to become the highest-grossing Hindi film worldwide at that point. The film become second highest grossing Indian film in 2013. Chennai Express has stayed among the top 50 highest-grossing Indian films for over a decade, from its 2013 release to 2024. With a worldwide gross of ₹395.92–424.54 crore, the film's blend of romance, comedy, and action has resonated with audiences worldwide, securing its place as one of the most beloved and commercially successful films in Indian cinema.
At the 59th Filmfare Awards, Chennai Express received 7 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (Shetty), Best Actor (Khan) and Best Actress (Padukone).
Plot Rahul Mithaiwala, a rich bachelor, lives in Mumbai with his paternal grandparents. Rahul's grandfather Y. Y. Mithaiwala is a businessman and owner of a chain of confectionery shops. Before Y. Y.'s 100th-birthday celebration, Rahul's friends Bobby and Baman invite him to a vacation in Goa, which he accepts. Meanwhile, Y. Y. dies on the eve of the celebration when he witnesses Sachin Tendulkar on TV in a cricket match get dismissed on his 99th run. After Y. Y.'s funeral, Rahul's grandmother Neetu tells Rahul that Y. Y. wanted his ashes to be divided into two partsone part to be immersed in the Ganga, and the other in Rameswaram. Neetu asks Rahul to take the ashes to Rameswaram and disperse them. Rahul reluctantly accepts her request, but is also eager to visit Goa.
Rahul, Bobby and Baman plan to dump the ashes in Goa, but Neetu wants to see him off, forcing Rahul to travel by train. Rahul books a single ticket on the Chennai Express, planning to meet Bobby and Baman along the way, at Kalyan Junction station. However, Rahul forgets to take the ashes while alighting, where he almost misses the train when he returns to collect them. While trying to leave the train, Rahul notices a young woman running to board it and helps her and four men board the moving train, but the train leaves the station before he can get off.
Rahul tries to flirt with the woman, who starts communicating by singing parodies of Hindi film songs, and explains that the four men are trying to kidnap her. Rahul lends her his phone so that she can contact her friends, but the men with her grab it and throw it off the train. Rahul is annoyed, but says nothing because the men are carrying weapons. Rahul tells the Travelling Ticket Examiner about them, but they push the Examiner into a river below a bridge. A panicked Rahul learns that the four men are her cousins and that her name is Meenalochni "Meenamma" Azhagusundaram. Meenamma is fleeing from a forced marriage to a gangster Tangaballi, Meenamma's father Durgeshwara "Durgesh" Azhagusundaram is a powerful mafia kingpin and landlord in Tamil Nadu.
Meenamma takes Rahul to Durgesh and introduces Rahul as her lover. Tangaballi challenges Rahul to a duel that Rahul unknowingly accepts due to his lack of understanding Tamil. On the night of the duel, Rahul escapes with the help of a local policeman Shamsher, but he ends up on a boat with Sri Lankan smugglers. A gun battle ensues between the police force and the smugglers. The police officers investigate and take Rahul into custody, but Rahul tells his story and ends up back in Komban.
Terrified and once again surrounded by Durgesh's sickle-wielding henchmen, Rahul pretends to take Meenamma hostage and escapes with her in Durgesh's car, battling Durgesh's men. When the car breaks down, Rahul and Meenamma quarrel and part ways. Rahul, not knowing which way to go, returns to Meenamma, who takes him to the Vidhamba village. Meenamma tells the villagers that they are a married couple who need protection and rest, to which the villagers agree.
Meenamma realises that she has fallen in love with Rahul. When Rahul plans to sneak away, Meenamma argues, not wanting to earn the villagers' distrust. Tangaballi catches Rahul as he tries to leave, but the villagers help them escape again. Meenamma persuades Rahul to disperse Y. Y.'s ashes and travels with him to Rameswaram, where they complete the rite. On their way back, Rahul realises that he has fallen for Meenamma and does not tell her where they are going. Rahul takes Meenamma back to Durgesh and tries to make him understand and honour Meenamma's wish, where he also tells Meenamma that he loves her.
Rahul tells Tangaballi and his goons that he is ready for the fight. In the fight that follows, Rahul is severely beaten, but emerges victorious. Durgesh and Tangaballi reform, accepting that the love of a common man like Rahul is bigger than their physical ability and political influence. Durgesh allows Rahul to marry Meena. Later, Rahul leaves a message that love knows no regional or language barriers and that with a strong heart, there is no limit to what the common man can achieve.
Cast
Deepika Padukone as Meenalochini "Meenamma" Azhagusundaram Shah Rukh Khan as Rahul Mithaiwala Nikitin Dheer as Thangabali Sathyaraj as Durgeshwara "Durgesh" Azhagusundaram Kamini Kaushal as Neetu Mithaiwala Lekh Tandon as Y. Y. Mithaiwala Mukesh Tiwari as Inspector Shamsher Singh Puvisha Manoharan as Radhika "Radha" Azhagusundaram (Meenamma's cousin) Manu Malik as Baman (Rahul's friend) Rakesh Kukreti as Bobby (Rahul's friend) Mohan Raman as the village priest Yogi Babu as the Sri Lankan smuggler Jasper as Durgeshwara's henchman Besant Ravi as Durgeshwara's henchman King Kong as a passerby, who speaks in gibberish to Rahul. Jimmy Moses as a truck driver Delhi Ganesh as a villager Priyamani in special appearance in a item song "1 2 3 4 Get on the Dance Floor"
Production Development and casting Rohit Shetty had originally planned to team up with Shah Rukh Khan for a remake of the 1982 film, Angoor. After the 2011 blockbuster Singham, Shetty had begun writing the script of the film but left it half-finished. The script of Chennai Express was ready for Khan as a back-up, because of the difficulty of obtaining the actor's filming dates. Upon reading the script, Khan liked the idea and agreed to star in it before the Angoor remake, causing Angoor remake to be postponed. Shetty said the film is "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." About 68 minutes of footage were enhanced with CGI by Reliance MediaWorks.
Khan was the first actor to be approached with the script and was the first lead actor to be signed for the film. Rohit Shetty stated that despite the title, Khan would not play a South Indian in the film. The casting of the lead heroine was the subject of much press speculation; Kareena Kapoor, Asin and Deepika Padukone were rumoured to be involved. Shetty denied those rumours, stating that the cast would be finalised in April 2012, and that he was going to cast an established actress in the role. In October 2012, it was confirmed that Deepika Padukone had been signed to play the female lead opposite Khan, and photographs showing Padukone and Khan shooting were released. This was Padukone's second film opposite Khan, with whom she made her Bollywood debut in the 2007 blockbuster Om Shanti Om. Starting with this film, which was released on Women's Day, Khan wished to have the name of his female co-star appear above his own in the credits.
Sathyaraj was cast to play the role of Padukone's character's father, making his debut in Bollywood. Actress Priyamani was signed in January 2013 for an item number in the film replacing Nayanthara; both the actresses would eventually go on to star alongside Khan in Jawan. Other personalities from Tamil cinema, including Delhi Ganesh, Mohan Raman, Manorama and Kottachi, appear in minor roles; however, scenes involving the latter two did not make the final cut. The film was initially titled as Ready Steady Po (Po means Go in Tamil). However, to emphasise on the connection with South India, the film was retitled as Chennai Express with the planned title used as the tagline.
Filming and post-production
Filming on the project began at Mehboob Studio in Mumbai on 5 October 2012. Additional filming was done at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus with a minimal crew. Stills of the lead actor were unofficially released in mid-October 2012. In November 2012, the cast and crew went to Goa to begin filming the scenes set there. Vasco da Gama railway station was used to portray as Kalyan Junction railway station. A romantic scene on board a train passing next to Dudhsagar Falls was also shot. In December 2012, the crew went to Jakarta to film certain scenes. The Pamban Bridge also known as Annai Indira Gandhi Bridge, connecting the town of Mandapam in Tamil Nadu with Pamban Island, and Rameswaram was the scene for the song "Tera Rastaa Chhodoon Na".
In January 2013, a shoot was supposedly scheduled to take place in Ooty, but since Khan felt that Ooty was too far from Mumbai, several locations from Ooty were reconstructed on the outskirts of Panchgani in Wai by the art director Narendra Ruharikar. It took over 40 days and 15 million to build the required sets. Filming in Wai took the entire month of March 2013. A 10-day shooting schedule in Munnar, Kerala, began in mid-April 2013; scenes were filmed at Devikulam Lake, Meesapulimala, Wagavara and Kannimala. Filming was stopped for several days because of heavy rainfall, resulting in the schedule being slightly extended until end of the same month. A press conference was held in Munnar. In May 2013, scenes were filmed in North Goa. Padukone finished shooting on 25 May 2013. Khan flew to Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad in May 2013 to film his remaining scenes. Though the film has several Tamil dialogues, Khan said the makers intentionally excluded subtitles to emphasise the language barrier between the Tamil speakers and the lead character. Instead, Padukone's character translates some of the Tamil dialogues.
Chennai Express was produced by Gauri Khan, Karim Morani, Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur under the Red Chillies Entertainment and UTV Motion Pictures banners. It was released internationally by UTV in its second project for Khan after Swades (2004), which Screwvala co-produced; a transition shot in the film shares similarities with the intro of Walt Disney Pictures, which owned UTV.
Music