Do you think Chennai Express will bring back SRK?

Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Rohit Shetty
Produced by	Gauri Khan
Screenplay by	Yunus Sajawal Robin Bhatt Sajid-Farhad
Story by	K. Subaash
Starring	Deepika Padukone Shahrukh Khan
Music by	Vishal'Shekhar
Cinematography	Dudley
Editing by	Steven H. Bernard
Studio	Red Chillies Entertainment
Distributed by	UTV Motion Pictures[1]
Release date(s)	8 August 2013[2]
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Chennai Express is an upcoming 2013 Indian action comedy film directed by Rohit Shetty and produced by Gauri Khan under her production banner Red Chillies Entertainment.^[3][4] 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 and the first collaboration between Khan and Shetty.Chennai Express is about a man's journey from Mumbai to Rameshwaram and what happens along the way. Principal photography began on 27 September 2012. Filming began in October 2012 and is expected to wrap-up by April 2013.^[1][5]

Cast [edit]

• Shahrukh Khan as Rahul
• Deepika Padukone as Priya
• Sathyaraj as Priya's father
• Manorama as Priya's aunt
• Nikitin Dheer
• Rani Mukherji in a special appearance^[6]
• Priyamani in an item number^[6]
• Kapil Sharma
• Krushna Abhishek

Production [edit]

Development [edit]

Khan and Shetty had originally planned to team up for a remake of the 1982 film Angoor. After Singham, 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.^[7] 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."^[8]

Casting [edit]

Khan was the first actor to be approached with the script, and hence the first lead actor to be signed on to the film. Incidentally, Shetty 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 rumored by the media.^[9] In an interview, a visibly angry Shetty denied all rumors surrounding the leading heroine, stating that the cast would be finalized in April 2012 and that he was going to cast an established actress as the leading lady.^[10] However, in August it was officially announced thatDeepika Padukone had been signed to play the lead opposite Khan.^[11] Principal photography began on 27 September 2012 and shooting started soon afterwards. Rohit Shetty wanted Manorama to play Deepika Padukone's aunt.^[12] Sathyaraj was later cast to play the role of Deepika's father and the main antagonist of Chennai Express.^[13]

Marketing [edit]

The first look of Chennai Express was revealed on January 2, 2013. The posters received significant attention on social networking sites. They trended continuously on Facebook and Twitter as many people expressed their opinions on it.^[14] The first trailer will be released on Sunday 26th May 2013 on Set Max, Extra Innings in IPL 6 on 7 p.m.

Controversies [edit]

Shahrukh Khan starrer Chennai Express and Akshay Kumar starrer Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Again have been abandoned by Pakistani distributors and exhibitors in the interest of four of their films releasing on the same day.^[15]