Shah Rukh Khan’s
Chennai Express is
releasing this Friday and with the extravagant promotions, the buzz around the film is expectedly high.
With Shah Rukh, Rohit Shetty and Deepika Padukone being at the helm of the affairs, needless to say, almost every other person is looking forward to the film. We tell you what makes Chennai Express special.
Shah Rukh Khan, undoubtedly, is the numero uno drawing factor for the film. More importantly because he will not be seen in his regular comfort zone of romance and is going beyond boundaries to feature in an action comedy. The last time he tried to do something different with Ra.One, he burnt his hands badly. Nevertheless the buzz around Chennai Express seems to be quite positive.
Director Rohit Shetty is a brand at par with Shah Rukh Khan, if not more. The filmmaker has made a name for himself with his brand of action-comedy films and more importantly is also tagged as the president of the Rs 100 crore club in Bollywood (what with most of his films reaching that mark). Evidently he is one director who was present at all the promotional events of the film with SRK and Deepika. Also the trailer carries his distinct ‘Rohit Shetty entertainer’ mark.
Deepika Padukone made her Bollywood debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Om Shanti Om and the duo shared splendid chemistry. So getting to see them together once again is a treat.
While Chennai Express stars superstar Shah Rukh per se, it pays a tribute to an even bigger superstar – Rajinikanth. Shah Rukh and Deepika do the lungi dance and this in a way is a tribute to the Thalaivar. If you remember, Rajinikanth had a cameo appearance in SRK’s Ra.One where he appeared in the form of ‘Chitti’ – his character from the film Robot. Many feel Rajini’s one-scene appearance had a better impact than whole of Ra.One.
When names like Shah Rukh Khan and Rohit Shetty are taken in the same breath, one can’t miss the 100 crore mention.
Today, it doesn’t matter whether a film is good or bad or even whether a film is hit or flop. The new business benchmark is whether a film touches Rs 100-crore club.
And this time it’s not just the trade circles who are talking about it. The satellite rights of Chennai Express have been sold at a whopping Rs 48 crores and further to that, in a first of its kind deal, the film might make more money for its satellite rights if it crosses the Rs 100 crore mark. This time even the makers can’t shy away from saying that they don’t contemplate of the 100 crore club.
In times when films are not even shown to the media before Friday in fear of negative word of mouth, Chennai Express brings back the trend of paid previews on Thursday evening.
While some would consider that releasing a film on Thursday only means more revenues, it is a very risky decision for the fact that if the junta dislikes it, the business can fall drastically on Friday, even before the weekend sets in. But the extensive previews from early Thursday evening, speaks a lot about the confidence that the makers have in the film. (Agencies)