The success of Chennai Express is seen by its leading star Shahrukh Khan as a good sign of things to come for Indian cinema. Chennai Express is doing brisk business not only in North India, but at the southern box office and in international markets as well. The romantic comedy's lead actor Shahrukh Khan feels it's a good sign for the Indian film market. "It's a good sign not only for us, but for the films that came and that will come in the next five-six months... the market of Indian films is so big," Shah Rukh told reporters at the INOX theatre, where he came with the film's director Rohit Shetty and interacted with media and fans. Also starring Deepika Padukone, the movie is a co-production by Shahrukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment and UTV Motion Pictures. The 47-year-old added that for the success of "Chennai Express", he would like to "thank our producers and distributors like Disney UTV... their strategy has improved now".
"People now want to see the films, if they are released properly. Mashallah, this film is doing well down South, internationally also it is doing good. I think it's a great sign for Indian films," he added. Released on Eid, the romantic comedy is said to have set new records - it has got the highest paid preview collections, highest weekend collections, highest overseas collections for an opening weekend for a Bollywood film and also the fastest film to reach the Rs.100-crore-mark. It crossed the Rs.100-crore-mark in the first weekend itself and is still going strong at the box office. "Our market is growing extensively and very soon people will be comparing our market to international markets and for me that is very heartening," said Shahrukh Khan.