Thank God! Chennai Express Is Not Another Himmatwala | Koimoi Reader’s View

This is with all regards to the so called action comedies that have taken over the domestic arena off late, with the likes of Dabangg, Rowdy Rathore or a Bodyguard doing wonders at the box office, but I personally have always been a little aloof from the genre of films. With hardly any storyline and too much of mirch-masala and fluffy dhishoom-dhishoom in slow-mo, Action Comedies were one thing I simply never encouraged. Not until a Chennai Express happened.

With no Diaspora of being a biased SRK or Sallu fanatic, it is the underlying theory that never attracted me to the genre. And no wonder, heavyweight and superbly hyped action comedies have also bitten dust all to easily, the biggest example being Himmatwala. While Himmatwala made too much of noise and a lot of shor-sharaba during the promotions, the theatrical story was a completely different experience. While two doses of disprin helped me get out of the so called Sajid Khan Entertainer hangover, it scared me to the extent of almost hating every other action comedy.

And till the very last second of the first minute of Chennai Express during the preview yesterday, I was skeptical about its content, plot, story line and the expected use of unabashed action sequences that would be more nautanki than being gritty. But to my surprise, Chennai Express was all that and more. While Shah Rukh clearly called this the perfect Family Entertainer, we definitely agree with the superstar as the film, despite losing out on creative punch lines, chose to stick to cater to the family audience, abetting the use of any double-meaning jokes or an aura of cheapness in the dialogues. Plus, unlike Himmatwala which had nothing to offer at the platter, Chennai Express mixes a lot of ingredients from action, romance and mostly comedy to create a magnanimous film that is all set to create humungous response in the Bollywood arena. But nevertheless, after a point, the same jokes do become nerve wrecking and does go OTT yet Rohit chugs you back into the movie almost effortlessly.

From the well placed songs to the lucid storyline, Chennai Express was not even near the debacle of Himmatwala, one that transported me into the dungeons of being universally negative towards such films. A plastic debutante, a gibberish plethora of sequential so called hard hitting dialogues and an extremely annoying Paresh Rawal and his even-more-irritating nonsensical lines, Himmatwala was a huge bore that helped me snore away the two hours of punishment that I was put through. On the contrary, Chennai Express isn’t flawless but flawed with some minor moles and warts around Chennai Express, with its careful expression of love and some wonderfully placed twitched-songs sequences teleported me back from the dungeons of a Himmatwala. Not even remotely close to the disastrous Himmatwala, the haunting fears of an action comedy are finally over for me.

Just in case, you agree, you might have a huge dose of entertainment too because CE is too common to be exquisite. After all, Don’t Underestimate the Power of a Common Man. The Man, here being Rohit Shetty coz only he could pull this off with Shah Rukh Khan in tow! No one else can, we feel! And watching the ceetees, taalis and the crowd dances to 1234 and Lungi Dance in front of the 75mm screen, the audiences seem totally satiated with this paisa-vasool entertainer and scream “Superhit” while they exit. We agree, too!

(Disclaimer: Koimoi does not take responsibility for opinions or views expressed by any writer in the reader’s column. It is independent of our company policy and doesn’t echo our opinion of the issue)

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