Chennai Express

Chennai Express
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRohit Shetty
Written byYunus Sajawal (screenplay)
Farhad-Sajid (dialogues)
Story byK. Subash
Produced byRonnie Screwvala
Siddharth Roy Kapur
Gauri Khan
Karim Morani
StarringShah Rukh Khan
Deepika Padukone[1]
Nikitin Dheer
Sathyaraj
CinematographyDudley
Edited bySteven H. Bernard
Music byOriginal Soundtrack:
Vishal–Shekhar
Background Score:
Amar Mohile
Guest Composer:
Yo Yo Honey Singh
Production
companies
Distributed byUTV Motion Pictures[2]
Release dates
  • 8 August 2013 (2013-08-08) (International)[3][4]
  • 9 August 2013 (2013-08-09) (India)[5]
Running time
141 minutes[3]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹70 crore[6][7]
Box office₹424 crore[8]

Chennai Express is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film[9][10] directed by Rohit Shetty and produced by UTV Motion Pictures and Red Chillies Entertainment. It stars Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and with Nikitin Dheer and Sathyaraj in supporting roles. The film revolves around Rahul Mithaiwala, a businessman who accidentally boards the eponymous train and journeys from Mumbai to Rameswaram with the daughter of an influential crimeboss.

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 ₹1 billion (US$17.07 million) 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.

At the 59th Filmfare Awards, Chennai Express received 7 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (Shetty), Best Actor (Khan) and Best Actress (Padukone).

  1. ^ Subhash K. Jha (22 November 2015). "Kajol takes hubby's name for the first time". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Even in Chennai Express and Happy New Year, Deepika Padukone's name appeared before SRK's.
  2. ^ Shalvi Mangaokar (28 September 2012). "Chennai Express Finally Chugs Off". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Chennai Express (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 31 July 2013. Archived from the original on 14 September 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  4. ^ "Chennai Express (2013) International Box Office Results – Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 18 August 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  5. ^ "'Chennai Express' Release Date Delayed: Shah Rukh-Deepika Starrer Pushed to 9 August". International Business Times. 19 July 2013. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  6. ^ "Chennai Express worldwide box office collections top Rs 314 crore". Business Today. 19 August 2013. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2022. The movie was made on a budget of Rs 70 crore.
  7. ^ "Chennai Express mints ₹ 33.12 crore on opening day". NDTV. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  8. ^ Cain, Rob (20 March 2016). "Shah Rukh Khan's 'Fan' Aims To Continue Movie Megastar's Global Hit Streak". Forbes. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017.
  9. ^ "Specialty B.O. Preview: 'Prince Avalanche', 'Chennai Express', 'Off Label', 'In A World', 'I Give It A Year'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 8 August 2013. The biggest Indian release to date in North America, action-comedy Chennai Express has been on UTV's slate for two years.
  10. ^ "Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan on Chennai Express". BBC. Retrieved 1 August 2013. The much-anticipated Chennai Express is an action-comedy film, in which Khan stars as Rahul, a man who finds love on a road trip to Rameshwaram.