The 2013 film Chennai Express increased people’s love for Kashmir and Kanyakumari. The story of common man Rahul and Meenamma made the audience laugh a lot. The film also did well at the box office and as the film completes 11 years of its release, know 11 lesser-known stories related to the film.
1. Rohit and SRK’ s superhit combo
Rohit Shetty is known for mixing action with comedy. His films are for the mass audience and the entire focus is to entertain the audience. After debuting with Zameen in 2003, Rohit Shetty kept making films with Ajay Devgan (lead role) for almost 10 years. This was Rohit Shetty’s first film with Shah Rukh Khan. Due to this, there was a lot of discussion about the casting at that time.
2. Deepika was not the first choice
Director Rohit Shetty had first approached Kareena and Asin for Meenamma’s character, but for some reason, he had to hear a no from both of them, after which this role came directly into Deepika’s account. She played the character of Meenamma, who was a South Indian woman in the film as well. Moreover, after debuting with Shah Rukh Khan in 2007 in Om Shanti Om, Chennai Express was her second film with SRK. Till date, the superhit duo has featured in 8 films together (including cameos).
3. Chennai Express box office records
Chennai Express currently holds the record for the highest-paid previews in Bollywood, with collections of 6.75 crores. Made on a budget of 70 crores, the film earned 227 crores in just India. The film got an opening of 33 crores!
4. The title of the film was changed
Director Rohit Shetty wanted to give this film a South touch, so initially, the name of this film was kept as ‘Ready-Steady Po’. But, he was presenting the love story of Deepika and Shah Rukh through a train, so he changed the name of the film to ‘Chennai Express’. Also, Rohit did not want to leave the slogan ‘Ready-Steady Po’, so he made it a tagline.
5. Shooting at Godless temple
Do you remember the famous temple scene from Chennai Express, it was shot at Ramoji Film City’s Godless temple. Several films are shot at this venue and one can place their lord at the main temple court. Hence, it is called the Godless temple.
6. Shah Rukh Khan had to climb 800 stairs
There is a scene in Chennai Express when Shah Rukh’s character Rahul Mithaiwala climbs 800 stairs carrying Deepika’s character Meenamma in his lap. During the shooting, Deepika asked him, “Can you do this? Are you that strong?” Khan immediately said, “Of course”, but Shah Rukh did not know that it involved 800 stairs. As revealed by SRK in an interview, this was the best scene among all the romantic scenes of his career.
7. SP Balasubramaniam’s comeback
The songs of this film were quite popular. Especially its title song ‘Chennai Express’. Let us tell you, with this film, famous singer SP Balasubramaniam made a comeback in Bollywood after many years.
8. The way of promotion of the film was unique
The makers of ‘Chennai Express’ also used Android apps to promote their film. A few days before the release of the film, an Android game was launched. In the game, Shah Rukh Khan was saving himself from a South villain. The game became a hit as soon as it came to the market. This was the first time when the filmmakers targeted mobile apps to promote their film and they were successful in it.
9. Shah Rukh was injured
There is no dearth of action scenes in this film. While shooting a scene with Deepika Padukone, Shah Rukh got injured and due to this he had to undergo shoulder surgery.
10. Shah Rukh’s big decision towards equality
The credit role of this film was much talked about. Shah Rukh had decided that the name of the female lead would appear before his name in the credit role, which was welcomed enthusiastically by critics and audiences.
11. Tribute to Rajinikanth
At the end of the film, Shah Rukh Khan pays tribute to superstar Rajinikanth. For this, a lungi dance song was made, which was very popular and is still included in the best dance numbers. The song was voiced by Yo Yo Honey Singh.
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