Comedy along with action is rarely served in equal measures in today’s Bollywood movies. However, we know Rohit Shetty for his mass entertainment jigs which include cars fluttering from unknown corners and comedy which isn’t slapstick,  but works.

What is amusing here is how Shetty keeps these two triumphing facets  together and submerges them with a  Southern touch along with SRK’s trademark romance in ‘Chennai Express’.

Though for some, it might sound a mix and mash of numerous odd ingredients which might produce a sour recipe in the end. But here is where Rohit exercises his control. He carries the intriguing premises with responsibility without exploiting or hurtling regional sentiments.
He brings out the regional diction out of Deepika (who chews the words and deliver it with finesse) so brilliantly, that one might mistake her as a South actress, though we know that she will starring opposite Rajinikanth soon. However, the Tamil  and Marathi conversations could have been made a bit explicable.

Rohit Shetty allows his cameraman to zoom into the attractive hilly locales like Meeshapulimala, Devikulam Lake, Kannimala and Wagavara.

Letting the intoxicating beauty prevail, Rohit wastes no extra duration to bring forth his business of combat which shifts the focus to initial uproar which began when Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan) a well educated man from North India was on its way to fulfill his late Grandpa’s last wish to immerse his ashes in Rameswaram river which he intend to vacate for a Goa trip.
But as destiny decides, Rahul boards Chennai Express where he meets Meena who is escaping from her marriage which her father Durgeshwara (Sathyaraj)has fixed with Tangaballi (Nikiteen Dheer) for the expansion of his empire.

Due to some reason he gets trapped into the goon’s game. How he gets rid of it that is how Rohit portrays the story cleverly.No matter how many flaws you invent in this broken drama, you can’t deny that its heart is at the right spot.

Chennai Express has the vitality to provoke you to chuckle,  if at least  you don’t jump on your seat. Even if you pinpoint holes, such is the verve that you giggle during those moments.
The jokes which are repetitive fall flat, but here’s SRK who replicates the acts and dialogues from his archive flicks to amuse you shamefully.

Now when it comes to replication, even Rohit doesn’t hesitate to take  inspiration from SRK’s celebrated DDLJ into his action. The final hand to hand combat is brought forward from 1995 romantic-saga in which Rahul won over Simran’s dad.
But alike his earlier directorial flicks Rohit doesn’t insist much on the fighting part, which might sadden his mass audience. Instead he allows King Khan’s magic and Deepika’s outclassing  innocence to cover all.

You would  be least  perturbed over the infusion of numerous sub plots, you won’t discover contemporary additions in the screenplay but that is what Shetty’s flicks are all about.
Having said that,  had the hurried director stuck to his plot, Chennai Express could have been better.

But Kudos to the ‘Om Shanti Om’ couple who, with their presence, paper up the blemishes with their amusing chemistry.
SRK is back as a charming Rahul who is a romantic feat action hero. His screen presence is delightful which none can replace. He tickles your funny bone, makes you emotional at times and when it comes to action he doesn’t exploits but takes the punch and delivers the same with full strength.

Deepika, playing his lady love after ‘Om Shanti Om’ , is surprisingly humourous. Her Southern dialect sounds cute and she looks innocent and beautiful. She slips into the character brilliantly and never comes out of it till the end.  The hilarious moment in the flick belongs to her where she wakes up in the midnight and acts weird.
The veteran star Sathyaraj leaves a desired effect but could have been given more meat. The muscular Nikiteen Dheer is good.

Music by Vishal-Shekhar is great. However, before its release, the music wasn’t the high point of the flick, but it is good. Kashmir se Kanya Kumari and Tera Rasta tracks are my favourites.

I’ll go with two and a half stars for Chennai Express which, from any end, is neither inspiring nor thought provoking. With Shah Rukh-Deepika’s screen presence, this is just a masala entertainer which won’t disappoint Rohit and SRK’s mass audience.