Chennai Express

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Chennai Express

Theatrical release poster

Rohit Shetty Gauri Khan Produced by Ronnie Screwvala Siddharth Roy Kapur Yunus Sajawal Screenplay by Robin Bhatt K. Subaash Story by Narrated by Shahrukh Khan[1] Deepika Padukone Starring Shahrukh Khan VishalShekhar Music by Cinematography Dudley Steven H. Bernard Editing by Red Chillies Entertainment Studio Distributed by UTV Motion Pictures[2] 8 August 2013 (Overseas markets[3][4]) 9 August 2013 (India[5]) Release dates Directed by Running time 141 minutes[3]

Country Language Budget Box office

India Hindi Tamil 750 million (US$12 million)[6] 3.95 billion (US$63 million)[7][8][9]

Chennai Express i/tna/ /ksprs/ is a 2013 Indian romantic action comedy film directed by Rohit Shetty and produced by Gauri Khan under the film production company Red Chillies Entertainment.[10] 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.[11][12] 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.[13] Principal photography began on 27 September 2012. Filming began in October 2012 and was completed by May 2013. The film was released in the overseas markets[3][4] on 8 August 2013 and in India on 9 August 2013. Extensive paid previews were held in India on 8 August 2013 as well.[14][15] Upon release, the film received mixed reviews from critics. Despite this, the film broke several records in India and abroad[14] and became the fastest film to collect 1 billion (US$16 million).[16] The film's soundtrack, composed by the Vishal-Shekhar duo, however, received positive reviews from critics. The film surpassed Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and became the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2013 until its record was surpassed by Dhoom 3.[17][18] It is also the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood film in overseas markets.[8][9] Chennai Express currently ranks as the second highestgrossing Bollywood film ever worldwide.

Contents

1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production o 3.1 Development o 3.2 Casting o 3.3 Filming 4 Release o 4.1 Statistics o 4.2 Marketing o 4.3 Controversies 5 Soundtrack o 5.1 Critical response 6 Critical reception o 6.1 India o 6.2 Overseas 7 Box office

7.1 India 7.2 Overseas 7.3 Records 8 Awards 9 Notes 10 References 11 External links

o o o

Plot
The story starts with a narrative by Rahul Mithaiwala (Shahrukh Khan), a forty-year-old bachelor who lives in Mumbai. Rahul's parents died in a car accident when he was eight years old, so he was brought up by his grandparents. His grandfather has a sweet-selling chain store Y.Y. Mithaiwala. Before his birth centenary celebration, two of Rahul's friends suggest a vacation in Goa, which he accepts. On the eve of the celebration, his grandfather dies whilst watching a cricket match. His grandmother tells him that his grandfather desired to have his ashes divided into two parts to be immersed in the Ganges River and Rameswaram respectively. She requests Rahul to go to Rameswaram and immerse them. Rahul reluctantly accepts her request but was also eager to attend the Goa trip. He and his friends thus make plans to dump the ashes at Goa. They are forced to change the plan when Rahul's grandmother wanted to personally see him off. This forces him to travel by train and he books a single ticket on the Chennai Express. He plans to meet his friends at the Kalyan Junction station from where they would travel to Goa by car. Rahul forgets to take his grandfather's ashes on reaching the station and when he comes back to get it, the train started to roll on its wheels. While trying to step off of the train, he notices a girl (apparently South Indian) running to catch the train. He helps her board the moving train. He then sees four people running behind to catch the train, helps them all to get in and himself misses the platform to get off. He tries to flirt with the girl, assuming she does not know his language. To his surprise, she starts communicating by singing parodies of Hindi film music, so that the others don't understand. Rahul, on her demand, lends his mobile phone so that she can contact her friends; the men with her throw it away from the moving train. He gets annoyed by this, however keeps quiet seeing that they carry weapons and guns along. He informs the ticket examiner about them but they push the man into a lake below the railway bridge. Extremely panicked, Rahul learns that those men were actually kidnapping her and that her real name was Meenalochni Azhagusundaram (Deepika Padukone) a.k.a. Meenamma. She was trying to flee from a forced marriage to Tangaballi (Nikitin Dheer). Her father Durgeshwara Azhagusundaram (Sathyaraj), is a powerful headman of the Komban Kaum (an anagram of Kumbakonam) in Tamil Nadu. He wants her to marry Tangaballi so that he would assume control of the neighboring village as well.

Rahul (Shahrukh Khan) helps Meenamma (Deepika Padukone) board the train, a spoof of the famous train scene in Khan's 1995 film Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. Meena takes Rahul to her father and introduces him as her lover. Tangaballi challenges Rahul for a duel, without knowing anything amiss, partly aided by his lack of knowledge in Tamil, accepts in sign language. On the night of the fight, Rahul escapes with the help of a local Sikh policeman (Mukesh Tiwari) but in the turn of events he lands on a ship with Sri Lankan terrorists and smugglers. When police arrives Rahul tells all the story and connection with Komban village, finally ends up in Komban Kaum again. Surrounded by sickle-wielding henchmen of Azhagusundaram, Rahul then pretends to take Meena as hostage and escapes again in her father's favorite car. When the jeep breaks down, they quarrel and go separate ways. But, Rahul not knowing which way to go, comes back to Meena who takes him to the Vidhamba village where a wedding was taking place. Meena lies to the people that they are a married couple who have eloped and needed protection and rest. The villagers grow fond of the couple and take care of them as long as they stay. Meena realises that she has fallen in love with Rahul. When Rahul has plans of leaving secretly, Meena argues and does not want to earn the distrust of the affectionate villagers. As he tries to leave, he is caught by Tangaballi but the villagers help them escape again. Meena who persuades him to immerse his grandpa's ashes travels with Rahul to Rameswaram. There they complete the rites and on their way back, Rahul, realising that he has also fallen for Meena, does not tell her where they're going. He takes Meena back to her father again and tries to make him understand and honor his daughter's wish. He also confesses for the first time that he loves her. Rahul tells Tangaballi and his goons that he has come ready for the fight this time. In the fight that follows, Rahul though severely injured emerges the winner. Meena's father and Tangaballi finally turn over a new leaf and accept that the heart of a common man like Rahul is much bigger than their physical ability and political clout. Azhagusundaram, allows Rahul to marry his daughter, the twist that changed his life forever. When they finally unite, Rahul leaves a message that love knows no barriers of region or language and that with a strong heart, there is no limit to what a common man can achieve.

Cast

Deepika Padukone as Meenalochni Azhagusundaram Shahrukh Khan as Rahul Mithaiwala Sathyaraj as Durgeshwara Azhagusundaram, Meena's father[19]

Nikitin Dheer as Tangaballi[20] Kamini Kaushal as Rahul's grandmother[21] Lekh Tandon as Y.Y Mithaiwala (Rahul's grandfather)[21] Mukesh Tiwari as Inspector Shamsher Singh, In-charge of Komban area[22] Priyamani in an item song "1 2 3 4 Get on the Dance Floor"[23]

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.[24] 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."[25] About 68 minutes of footage were augmented with CGI by Reliance MediaWorks.[26]

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, Khan 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 rumoured by the media.[27] In an interview, a visibly angry Shetty denied all rumours surrounding the leading heroine, stating that the cast would be finalised in April 2012 and that he was going to cast an established actress as the leading lady.[28] However, in October 2012, it was confirmed that Deepika Padukone had been signed to play the lead opposite Khan, when stills were released from the set showing Padukone and Khan shooting. This would be her second film opposite Khan, with whom she made her Bollywood debut with in the 2007 blockbuster Om Shanti Om.[29][30] Rohit Shetty wanted Manorama to play Deepika Padukone's aunt[31] but dropped the idea later. Sathyaraj was cast to play the role of Deepika's father and the main antagonist of Chennai Express, making his debut in Bollywood.[32] Actress Priyamani was signed late January 2013 for an item number in the film.[33] Other personalities from Tamil cinema cast in minor roles include Delhi Ganesh and Mohan Ram.

Filming

The Munnar Hill station in Kerala, one of the film's major locations The filming began at Mehboob Studio in Mumbai on 5 October 2012.[34] The lead actor was dressed in black shirt and pants; while the actress was in a South Indian attire, wearing Kanchipuram sari.[29] Filming was done at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station with minimal crew members. These working stills of the lead actor were unofficially released in midOctober 2012.[35] In November 2012, the cast and crew went to Goa for the first filming schedule.[36] The railway station of Vasco da Gama was used to portray Kalyan. A romantic scene on board a train passing next to Dudhsagar Falls was also shot.[37] In December 2012, the team travelled to Jakarta for filming some scenes.[38] By early January 2013, the next schedule was supposed to happen in Ooty but Khan opined that the Ooty 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 15 million (US$240,000).[39][40] The Wai schedule of filming ran for entire month of March 2013.[41] A 10day shooting schedule began in Munnar, Kerala from mid of April 2013, scenes were canned at Devikulam Lake, Meesapulimala, Wagavara and Kannimala.[42] 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.[43] A press conference was also held in the town Munnar.[44] In May 2013, certain scenes were canned in North Goa[45][46] The lead actress wrapped up all her portions of shoot on 25 May 2013.[47] Khan flew to Hyderabad by end of May 2013 for remaining filming.[48] The film has several Tamil dialogues, but sans subtitles, to retain context.[49]

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.[50] Amrita Pandey, Executive Director, (Syndication, International Distribution and Disney Media Distribution), Studious, Disney UTV, said in a statement. 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.[51]

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

The film had paid previews in India on 8 August 2013 with 1012 shows at multiplexes.[52] Chennai Express, besides domestic and usual international markets, was scheduled to be released in non-traditional international markets. In Peru, it was the first Hindi film to be released on the same day as in India. Earlier, My Name Is Khan, which portrayed Khan in the lead role and Guzaarish which starred Hrithik Roshan opened as delayed releases in Peru. The film was also released in Morocco, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France and Israel.[50] The price of tickets for Chennai Express was increased 40 percent more than the usual tariff. The raise, which includes 40 per cent increase in ticket prices during the weekday shows and up to a 20 percent hike over the weekend, was not uniform across all multiplexes.[51]

Statistics
The film was released in 2,550 cinemas in 3,550 screens in India,[53] and 700 screens internationally (including 196 screens in the United States, 175 in the United Kingdom,[54] 55 in the Middle East and 30 in Australia), making it the widest Bollywood release of all time at the time of its release.[6][55][56]

Marketing
Chennai Express was revealed to the public on 1 January 2013.[57] A thirty-one seconds title track teaser sung by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam was released on 23 May 2013.[58] The official trailer of the film was released at an event in Mumbai on 13 June 2013 and crossed the 4 million views mark on YouTube just two days after its launch.[13] A platform running game based on the film, developed by Disney UTV's digital wing, titled Chennai Express: Escape from Rameshwaram was launched on 24 July 2013 for Android systems and 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.[59] The outfits donned by Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in the film were auctioned, and proceedings from the sale was gone for a charity.[60] The auction took place around the day of its release.[61] A Karaoke app was launched on 2 August 2013 for Android and iOS based smartphones developed by Singbox, a Sweden based gaming studio.[62] The film's satellite rights were sold to Zee Network for 480 million.[63] The deal was also linked to the film's box office collection, first of its kind in Indian cinema. If Chennai Express crossed the cut-off amount, which was said to be around 1.3 billion (US$21 million) net, then for every 100 million earned after that, the producers would get an additional 20 million.[64] Khan also promoted his film on reality television shows such as Comedy Nights with Kapil, DID Super Moms, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 6 and Indian Idol Junior.[65] The film which premiered in television on 20 October 2013, fetched a record gross viewership, about double of that of the highest rated fiction show and helped to catapult its broadcaster, Zee TV to the top position among all General Entertainment Channels that month.[66] The Zeitgeist, Google's year-end

compilation of the most frequent search queries, named Chennai Express the most trending topic in India for year 2013.[67]

Controversies
Chennai Express along with Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai Dobara were initially abandoned by Pakistani distributors and exhibitors due to four of their films releasing on the same day. Both films later changed their date to 9 and 15 August respectively.[68] 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.[69] The film's poster and trailer, released on Twitter and YouTube, were criticised by some Tamil media for depicting Tamil ethos in poor light. The heavily accented dialogue delivery by Deepika Padukone resembled a Malayalee accent rather than Tamil, according to them.[70][71] Padukone however defended the film, claiming that it does not spoof South Indian culture. She added that nearly the entire crew, including herself, were South Indians. She later exclaimed, "Why would we spoof our own culture?"[72] Adopting an aggressive stance on Wednesday, 31 July 2013 the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's Film Wing threatened to disrupt and stop its release on 8 August as it reportedly attempted to dislodge ongoing popular Marathi movies from cinemas that show only one film at a time 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 film 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.[73]

Soundtrack
Chennai Express

Soundtrack album by Vishal-Shekhar 1 July 2013 Released 20122013 Recorded Feature film soundtrack Genre 39:34 Length Hindi Language T-Series Label Vishal-Shekhar chronology
Gippi (2013) Chennai Express (2013) Gori Tere Pyaar Mein (2013)

The music score of the film was composed by the duo Vishal-Shekhar. Amitabh Bhattacharya and Yo Yo Honey Singh participated by writing the lyrics of the album songs. Recording of the songs began in late October 2012. The track "Ready Steady Po" was recorded during November 2012 by the music composers.[74] Several sources claimed that the director and actor were unsatisfied with the score of the film. The director was reportedly asked to plan for a different musical composition entirely.[75] However, the composers denied all such rumours.[76] In midApril 2013, singer S. P. Balasubrahmanyam recorded the title track for the film, marking his return to Bollywood for playback after 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.[58] 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 had uploaded a song on its official channel of YouTube named as "Lungi Dance The 'Thalaivar(r)' Tribute" in honour of the South Indian film actor Rajinikanth and sung by Honey Singh.[77] 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.[78] Tracklist No. Title 1. "1 2 3 4 Get on the Dance Floor" 2. "Titli" 3. "Tera Rastaa Chhodoon Na" 4. "Kashmir Main Tu Kanyakumari" 5. "Ready Steady Po" Singer(s) Vishal Dadlani, Hamsika Iyer Gopi Sunder, Chinmayi Anusha Mani, Amitabh Bhattacharya Sunidhi Chauhan, Arijit Singh, Neeti Mohan Vishal Dadlani, Brodha V, Smokey, Enkore, Natalie Length 3:48 5:50 4:13 5:07 3:28

Di Luccio 6. "Chennai Express" 7. "Titli (Dubstep Version)" 8. "Chennai Express (Mashup)" 9. "Lungi Dance" Total length: S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Jonita Gandhi Zoheb Khan, Phoenyx DJ Kiran Kamath Yo Yo Honey Singh 4:47 3:40 3:37 4:36 39:34

Critical response
Professional ratings Review scores
Source Devesh Sharma (Filmfare)[79] IBN Live[80] Yashika Mathur (Daily News and Analysis)[81] Joginder Tuteja (Rediff)[82] Rating

The soundtrack album of Chennai Express received positive reviews. Devesh Sharma of Filmfare gave the album 4/5, saying that one should opt to listen to the music of the film, because it is full of new music and zany surprises. He also said that Vishal-Shekhar had put in a lot of effort to bring out their best for the film.[79] IBN Live gave the album 3.5/5 and said that "Here's another winner from Vishal-Shekar. It is likely to appeal to 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." [80] Yashika Mathur of DNA gave the album 3.5/5 and stating that Chennai Express has a soothing, typical Bollywood soundtrack that music lovers will enjoy. She praised the mixing of the peppy songs as "exceptional".[81] Joginder Tuteja of Rediff.com gave the album 3/5 and wrote, "The one that is actually playing in the promos so far is the title song Chennai Express, which is just about average. Oh yes, it is good to hear S P Balasubramaniam after a break. However, not only does his voice seem illsuited for Shah Rukh Khan, but overall the song is not remarkable."[82] 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, VS have given us a fair idea of what awaits us this Eid."[83]

Critical reception
Chennai Express received mixed reviews from critics in India and abroad.[84]

India

Khan (top) attracted mixed reviews for his performance, while Padukone's (bottom) performance received praise. 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."[85] Rachit Gupta of Filmfare rated the movie 4/5 stars, stating, "The film'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."[86] 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 all the ingredients you'd expect from a big commercial masala film 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."[87] Meena Iyer of Times of India gave the movie 3.5/5 stars, saying, "Chennai Express is a magnificently mounted film. In an ode to his own cinemaread Golmaal series or Bol Bachchan, Rohit Shetty, the director, who has grossers in Bollywood's 100-crore club, ups the scale for his Eid offering."[88] 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 a full-on masala film that is completely unapologetic about its intentions. And that is its USP [Unique Selling Point]."[89] Zee News rated the movie 3/5 stars, stating, "If you ignore the few clichs (the repetition of 'DDLJ' 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'!"[90] India Today gave the film 3 stars: "The good news first. "Chennai Express" is a pleasant and likeable 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 [old] Rahul without faltering."[91] 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."[92] Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave the movie 2.5/5 stars, and wrote, "The film's pair is trying to have some fun, and comes 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."[93] 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."[94] Khalid Mohamed of Deccan Chronicle gave the film 2.5 stars and commented "board Chennai Express at your own risk."[95] Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave the film 2/5 rating and commented "[Chennai Express] is a big, fat bore. A bloated vanity project for an actor capable of so much more."[96] 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."[97]

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."[98] 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 performance "outshines" that of Shahrukh in the movie.[99] Ronnie Scheib of Variety wrote "Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone are ill matched in this overworked comedy/romance/actioner ... Shetty's need to maintain his characters' romantic heroism constantly grates against his depictions of their ridiculousness."[100] Simon Foster of the Special Broadcasting Service gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and described it as "a loud, lame-brained romantic comedy from the (very) broad directorial brush of Rohit Shetty, SRK's over-hyped vehicle sees the charismatic but ageing actor badly miscast and easily overshadowed by his leading lady, Deepika Padukone."[101]

Box office
See also: List of highest-grossing Bollywood films Chennai Express became the highest grossing Bollywood film in India and around the world by collecting 3.95 billion (US$63 million) at the end of its run.[7] The film beat the 3.92 billion (US$63 million) record set by 3 Idiots according to Box Office India.[102][103]

India
Chennai Express collected very well in paid previews on Thursday. According to Box Office India, the total collections of the Hindi version were 67.50 million (US$1.1 million), thereby surpassing the previous record held by 3 Idiots.[104] The film collected 292.50 million (US$4.7 million) on its opening day, making it the second highest opening day collection behind Ek Tha Tiger.[105][106] The film broke the second day and third day box office records as well collecting 264.30 million (US$4.2 million)[107][108] and 292.10 million (US$4.7 million) respectively[53] and collected 870.8 million (US$14 million) ( 938.3 million (US$15 million) including paid previews[109]), breaking the previous weekend record set by Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.[110][111] Chennai Express set another record for worldwide opening, earning 1.59 billion (US$25 million) in the three-day weekend.[112][113] The film fared well on Monday collecting over 120 million (US$1.9 million).[16] It grossed a total of 115 million (US$1.8 million) on its first Tuesday, thus becoming the highest grossing Shahrukh Khan-film in India.[114][115] The film remained steady and grossed 125.60 million (US$2.0 million) on Wednesday.[116][117] Box Office India reported that the film grossed 190 million (US$3.0 million) nett on Thursday, taking its first week total (including paid previews) to 1.461.50 billion (US$23 million), beating the previous record of Ek Tha Tiger.[118][119][120][121] It had a worldwide gross of 2.5 billion (US$40 million) in the first seven days.[122] The film collected 225.50 million (US$3.6 million) on its second weekend, taking the total domestic nett to 1.68 billion (US$27 million), and also became the second highest grossing Bollywood film in ten days with a worldwide gross of 3.14 billion (US$50 million).[123][124]

The film earned 1.85 billion (US$30 million) in two weeks and amounted to 1.94 billion (US$31 million) after its third weekend in the domestic market.[125] The film grossed 160 million (US$2.6 million) in its third week, bringing up its total to 2.00.75 billion (US$32 million).[126] Chennai Express broke the domestic nett record set by 3 Idiots in its fourth weekend[127][128] and added around 57.40 million (US$920,000) in week four to take the total to 2.06 billion (US$33 million).[18][129][130] The film collected 3.5 million (US$56,000) on its sixth week, for a final total of 2.08.25 billion (US$33 million).[131][132][a] The film's lifetime domestic distributor share stands at 1.15 billion (US$18 million), thus breaking Ek Tha Tiger's previous record of 1.07 billion (US$17 million).[134][135]

Overseas
Also, the film broke overseas records, with paid previews in the UK amounting more than any first day of a Bollywood film in the UK.[136] The film made opening weekend records in foreign territories taking in a total of 504.70 million (US$8.1 million), including record collections from key markets USA ($2.22 million), UAE (AED 7.73 million) and UK (934,118).[14][137][138][139] Chennai Express set a record opening weekend overseas gross of US $7.1 million.[140] It proved a big hit in Pakistan as the film collected $300,000 [Rs. 18.4 million] in its opening weekend.[141] By 18 August, the film broke all box office records in Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi, by grossing over 40 million rupees.[142][143] The film earned 720 million ($11, 667,477) in just nine days in overseas.[144][145][146] By the second weekend, the film grossed around $14 million.[147] Chennai Express grossed about US$16 million by its third weekend overseas.[148] The film took its overseas total to US$16.85 million by the fourth weekend.[149] By the fifth weekend, the film grossed about US$17.25 million abroad.[150] The film was still collecting in its sixth weekend, taking its total to US$17.40 million.[151]

Records
Upon release, the film broke the following records: Box office records made by Chennai Express Box office record Record details Previous record holder Dabangg 2 (2012, 3,450 Number of screens 3,700 screens screens) 3 Idiots (2009, 27.50 Paid previews 67.50 million (US$1.1 million) million (US$440,000)) 264.30 million Ra.One (2011, 229 million Second day (US$4.2 million) (US$3.7 million)) Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani 292.10 million Third day (2013, 224.40 million (US$4.7 million) (US$3.6 million)) 870 million (US$14 million) ( Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani ( Opening weekend 920 million (US$15 million) 630 million including paid previews) (US$10 million))

Ref.
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1.39 billion (US$22 million) ( Ek Tha Tiger (2012, 1.28 1.461.50 billion (US$23 million) billion (US$20 million)) including paid previews) Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani ( Worldwide opening 1.67 billion (US$27 million) 1.07 billion weekend (US$17 million)) Opening weekend in My Name Is Khan (2010, $2,220,497 the United States $1,944,027) Overseas opening My Name Is Khan $7,100,000 weekend ($5,300,000) Domestic nett. gross 3 Idiots 2.02 billion (excludes 2.08.25 billion (US$33 million) (US$32 million) Entertainment tax) Distributor share Ek Tha Tiger ( 1.07 billion 1.15 billion (US$18 million) (Domestic) (US$17 million)) 3 Idiots ( 3.92 billion Worldwide gross 3.95 billion (US$63 million) (US$63 million)) Television premiere 55.50 million views 3 Idiots (43 million) viewings Opening week

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