Chennai Express (2013)
When your grandpa’s dying wish turns into a train-bound rom-com showdown.
Movie Stats
- Movie: Chennai Express (2013)
- Directed by: Rohit Shetty
- Runtime: 141 minutes
- Release Date: August 9, 2013
- Language: Hindi
- Starring: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Nikitin Dheer, Sathyaraj
- Episode: Fear of Stairs — EP 16
What We Talked About
We took the Chennai Express straight into unhinged territory with this one—and we’re not just talking about the train scenes. In this episode, we experimented with a tighter, punchier format, but that didn’t stop us from derailing into theories about Jawan, Bollywood’s corniest instincts, and whether SRK can actually fight or just becomes a superhero whenever he’s behind the wheel.
The movie starts with a dead grandfather, a train ride, and some extremely convenient plot mechanics that lead Shah Rukh Khan’s character Rahul into the middle of a Tamil Nadu gangster drama. Deepika Padukone plays Meenamma, a runaway bride trying to escape an arranged marriage, and by the time she cons Rahul into pretending to be her lover, the two are locked into a rom-com action loop that somehow includes duels, motorbike stunts, and green screen chaos.
We dove into the signature Rohit Shetty madness: cars flipping, bodies flying ten meters through the air, and a style that Adam described as “tongue-in-cheek serious… but not serious.” Khilli laid out Shetty’s background as a stuntman turned director and how his brand of Telugu-style excess reshaped Bollywood action comedies during the 2010s.
The conversation also swerved into parody territory. We broke down the scenes where Hindi lyrics are used as secret messages, unnoticed by the Tamil-speaking goons. Nikki compared it to slapstick international cinema, and Adam confessed he didn’t even know the movie took place in India until halfway through.
The real fireworks went off in the final fight. Shah Rukh Khan gives a passionate feminist speech… only to immediately “win” the girl by punching out her fiancé in a macho brawl. As we pointed out, this scene tries to challenge patriarchy with words, only to reaffirm it with fists. It led to what might be the most deranged extended riff we’ve had on the podcast—featuring bukkake jokes, a run train on the dad theory, and the claim that this is actually Jawan’s origin story. Yes, we’re calling it now: Chennai Express is prequel canon.
Despite all this, we couldn’t quite decide: Is Chennai Express cool? Is it ironic? Or are we all just being gaslit by Shah Rukh Khan’s charm and a soundtrack that still haunts Adam’s memories of 2013 wedding season?
The movie starts with a dead grandfather, a train ride, and some extremely convenient plot mechanics that lead Shah Rukh Khan’s character Rahul into the middle of a Tamil Nadu gangster drama. Deepika Padukone plays Meenamma, a runaway bride trying to escape an arranged marriage, and by the time she cons Rahul into pretending to be her lover, the two are locked into a rom-com action loop that somehow includes duels, motorbike stunts, and green screen chaos.
We dove into the signature Rohit Shetty madness: cars flipping, bodies flying ten meters through the air, and a style that Adam described as “tongue-in-cheek serious… but not serious.” Khilli laid out Shetty’s background as a stuntman turned director and how his brand of Telugu-style excess reshaped Bollywood action comedies during the 2010s.
The conversation also swerved into parody territory. We broke down the scenes where Hindi lyrics are used as secret messages, unnoticed by the Tamil-speaking goons. Nikki compared it to slapstick international cinema, and Adam confessed he didn’t even know the movie took place in India until halfway through.
The real fireworks went off in the final fight. Shah Rukh Khan gives a passionate feminist speech… only to immediately “win” the girl by punching out her fiancé in a macho brawl. As we pointed out, this scene tries to challenge patriarchy with words, only to reaffirm it with fists. It led to what might be the most deranged extended riff we’ve had on the podcast—featuring bukkake jokes, a run train on the dad theory, and the claim that this is actually Jawan’s origin story. Yes, we’re calling it now: Chennai Express is prequel canon.
Despite all this, we couldn’t quite decide: Is Chennai Express cool? Is it ironic? Or are we all just being gaslit by Shah Rukh Khan’s charm and a soundtrack that still haunts Adam’s memories of 2013 wedding season?
Our Takeaways
“So how do you prove your worth? Apparently, by fighting other men while shouting about feminism.”Adam
“He’s on foot? Loser. But the moment Shah Rukh Khan gets on wheels, he’s Fast & Furious.”Khilli
“This is Jawan’s origin story. It’s the SRK Cinematic Universe and we’ve been living in it.”Nicky
“I didn’t realize this movie ends with patriarchy literally getting a happy ending.”Winnie
Weirdest Tangent
A 10-minute deep dive into how every character ends up metaphorically (and nearly literally) trying to perform sexual favors for Shah Rukh Khan by the end of the movie. It spirals into a parody of masculinity, Bollywood logic, and ends with a theory that ends in a “run train on the dad” bukkake sequence. Yes. That happened.
About Fear of Stairs
Fear of Stairs: Desi Films Decoded is a podcast where logic takes a backseat to dance numbers — and every staircase could be a death trap.
We’re four wildly different movie nerds diving into the chaos of Indian cinema. Sometimes we’re charmed. Sometimes we’re confused. Always entertained.
New episodes drop regularly covering the boldest, weirdest, and most unforgettable films from across Indian cinema — not just Bollywood.
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