Guilty Pleasure: Watching Chennai Express will make you miss Shah Rukh Khan on screen more!

Guilty pleasure is defined as something that one appreciates even though it is not well regarded, such as a film, television show, or piece of music. Almost everyone has that one film or TV show that is their guilty pleasure, and they refrain from telling anyone else about it. But I can proudly say that Chennai Express is a film which I can watch innumerable times without feeling negative judgement.

Honestly, the film marked the beginning of something that nobody imagined. Shah Rukh Khan and Rohit Shetty got together for an out-and-out comedy, a genre that had been unexplored by the superstar for a very long time. Moreover, it was the Om Shanti Om pair’s reunion and, for Deepika Padukone, her first outing with Shetty.

Chennai Express had all the elements of a blockbuster, and it was, of course, one of the all-time highest-grossing films. It redefined action-comedy without going too over the top. Yes, Shetty's action sequences were mellowed down in comparison to his other directorial efforts, as the film focused more on the comic aspect.

K Subash penned the story of Chennai Express, while the funniest dialogues were by Farhad-Sajid and the screenplay by Yunus Sajawal. The film was a complete team effort, much like how Rohit Shetty always calls his work.

Some sequences are so unforgettable, and so are the dialogues, which I can recall seconds by just replaying the film in my head – especially the first antakshari sequence between SRK and Padukone. It smartly creates a conversation out of song parodies, and who would have imagined Khan to have done so?

Not just that, nearly half a decade after Chennai Express’ release, the dialogues given to the superstar along with the expressions he created for them have maintained a separate fan base even now.

Beside Khan, even Padukone excelled in her performance as a South Indian girl trapped under the shackles of her father's rules. Her actions are funny about eloping, but deep down, they just address the patriarchal setup.

However, Shetty takes the train on a journey filled with laughter and love. Thus, any time you decide to watch the film, you are prepared to crack yourself up even before the scene is shown on screen.

A lot of the time, superstars are called out for romancing female actors far younger than their age. However, in Chennai Express, SRK played a 40-year-old man, which has been brought up multiple times in the film. The actor was already in his 40s when the film was released.

But what makes Chennai Express entertaining and why is it touted to be the last hit by Shah Rukh Khan? Well, it's hard to believe, but I think Chennai Express is the last best film by the superstar (PS, he is my favourite actor).

The actor shed his image of being a romantic hero (but brought elements of it, of course). He also doesn't get into action mode a lot, though there are many fight sequences. Moreover, the film just works for me because of the dialogues given to Khan and the way he delivers them.

In the runtime of two hours and fourteen minutes, there's hardly any scope for getting bored. Well, you won't if you have a prejudicial mind.

If your guilty pleasure is also watching Chennai Express, the film is currently streaming on Netflix.