Madgaon Express

Madgaon Express is a 2024 Hindi-language comedy film written and directed by actor Kunal Khemu in his directorial debut and produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani under the banner of Excel Entertainment. It stars an ensemble cast of Divyenndu, Pratik Gandhi, Avinash Tiwary, Nora Fatehi, Upendra Limaye and Chhaya Kadam.

The film was theatrically released on 22 March 2024. The film received positive reviews from critics and grossed ₹48 crore worldwide.

Plot
In 1998 in Mumbai, Dhanush Sawant aka Dodo, Pratik Garodia aka Pinku and Ayush Gupta study in the 10th standard and dream of going to Goa after their board examinations. Due to their parents' reluctance, they are unable to do so. In 2003, they once again plan the trip after their graduation. Sadly, the car meets with the accident as soon as they begin their journey. The plan is yet again put on the back burner.

A few years later, Pinku moves to Cape Town and Ayush to New York City. Both succeed in life and their pay package also increases. Meanwhile, Dodo is not able to have a steady job. He keeps in touch with Pinku and Ayush on social media and sees that they have become very rich. Hence, Dodo uses an editing software to create fake images and paint a false picture that he resides in a penthouse and is having the time of his life.

In 2015, Pinku and Ayush decide to fly down to Mumbai. They inform Dodo about it and also tell him that they'll stay at his 'penthouse'. Dodo gets tense and hence, he suggests that as soon as they land, the three of them should fulfil their plan of going to Goa. Pinku and Ayush agree. Since Dodo can't afford expensive flight tickets, he books three tickets to the Madgaon Express train under the pretext that they should travel like they would have, had they gone to Goa in 2003. Pinku and Ayush hate the idea of travelling by train but eventually give in, saying that they would return by flight only.

Before boarding the train, Pinku's bag gets exchanged with a similar looking bag owned by another man. They later discover that the bag contains a lot of cash, a gun and the key to a hotel room. They argue among themselves about what to do with the bag and ultimately decide to discard it

Upon reaching their destination, they take a cab and head straight to the beach. A drug dealer gives them psychedelic drug pills and after consuming it, they party together and spend the night with prostitutes at a hotel. Upon waking up the next morning, Ayush is upset at Dodo for bringing prostitutes with them, as he did not want to cheat on his long-distance online girlfriend Nisha. Dodo confesses that he had secretly kept the hotel room key from the stranger's bag, along with the cash and had brought them to the same hotel room. This angers Ayush and Pinku and during an altercation, Pinku falls down hard on top of the bed and they discover a stash of cocaine hidden underneath it.

Just then, Kanchan Kombdi, a lady gangster arrives there with her gang and mistakes Ayush for Ganapath, the man whose bag got exchanged with Pinku. She asks him to come and meet her at her place and her gang surrounds the entire hotel premises. The three escape the place by secretly jumping off the window. Pinku begins to act strangely as he is exposed to a high dosage of cocaine. They begin to search for a doctor who could treat Pinku. They meet a young woman named Tasha who says she can help them and takes them to a doctor named Danny, who gives Pinku an injection which heals him.

It is revealed that the cocaine found at the hotel room belongs to a ruthless gangster named Mendoza Bhai. Upon returning to the hotel, the three are shocked to discover that the cocaine is missing. Just then the police arrive there and they escape the place. Meanwhile, Ganapath reaches the hotel and is angry to find the cocaine missing, which he had himself hidden underneath the bed. He discovers Pinku's cellphone inside his bag and sees text messages from his girlfriend Mariam.

Ayush and Pinku blame Dodo for their whole predicament, saying that they do not trust him and everything he says feels like a lie. Dodo confesses that he is not rich like the two of them and that the images posted by him on social media were fake. He says that he felt like a "nobody" and did it so that they do not feel embarrassed to have him as a friend. The two say that Dodo will always be their friend, no matter what and forgive Dodo.

It is revealed that Mendoza Bhai and Kanchan Kombdi used to love each other and were married but few years later Mendoza fell in love with and married a foreign woman, which angered Kanchan, and they two became rivals. Kanchan had found the cocaine in the hotel room and had stolen it, planning to sell it and earn money, as revenge to Mendoza. Ganapath is revealed to be a member of Mendoza's gang but is secretly working with Kanchan.

The three decide to leave Goa, but discover that the police are looking for them and posters with their sketches are stuck everywhere. Just then, Dodo receive a phone call from Tasha saying that she can help them leave the city safely and asks them to meet her. Upon reaching the mentioned address, they discover that Tasha is held hostage by Mendoza Bhai and it was a setup to bring them to him. Mendoza orders Dodo and Pinku to go to Kanchan Kombdi's place to retrieve the cocaine, disguised as women by wearing saris, to blend in with her gang members. He adds that Ayush and Tasha would remain with him and that he would kill them if they fail to retrieve the cocaine.

Dodo and Pinku reach Kanchan's place and begin to look for the cocaine. One of the gang members finds out that Pinku is actually a man, which leads to an altercation in which Pinku's finger is chopped off. Just then, the place is raided by Danny, who is actually an undercover cop, along with his team and a massive shootout ensues. Dodo and Pinku manage to escape the place with the cocaine. Ayush and Tasha also escape while Mendoza and his gang are asleep and Tasha develops a liking towards Ayush.

The four are united and plan to finally leave the place, but just then Pinku receives a call from Ganapath saying that he has taken Mariam hostage and demands that they return all his money and the cocaine. They decide to meet Ganapath on board the Madgaon Express and return the items to him.

The next day, they board the train and Ganapath arrives there with Mariam. However, Mendoza and Kanchan also arrive there, demanding they return the cocaine. They return the bag to them but the cocaine is not there inside the bag. It is revealed that with the help of Danny, they had informed the police about everything and had handed over the cocaine to them. The police then arrive there and arrest Mendoza, Kanchan and Ganapath, while the three along with Mariam finally leave Goa.

Before Ayush boards his flight back to New York, Dodo confesses to him that his online girlfriend Nisha is actually Dodo himself who chatted with him online pretending to be a girl, as a practical joke. This upsets Ayush, though he gives Dodo a hug before leaving, seemingly forgiving him.

One year later, Pinku introduces Mariam to his mother and they plan to get married. Dodo wins a lot of money in a lottery and becomes very rich. Ayush removes "Nisha" as a friend from his social media account and receives a friend request from Tasha. Just then, Dodo reaches Ayush's house with a complete makeover and says that they should go to Las Vegas together.

Cast

 * Divyenndu as Dhanush Sawant "Dodo"
 * Pratik Gandhi as Pratik Garodia "Pinku/Pinkya"
 * Avinash Tiwary as Ayush Gupta
 * Nora Fatehi as Tehreen "Tasha"
 * Kunal Khemu as drug peddler (Cameo appearance)
 * Remo D'Souza as Dr Danny (Special appearance)
 * Upendra Limaye as Mendoza Bhai
 * Chhaya Kadam as Kanchan Kombdi
 * Raviraj Kande as Ganpat
 * Sameer Patil as Dodo’s father
 * Vipul Deshpande as Police inspector
 * Umesh Jagtap as Constable Santosh Sathe
 * Jewel Narigara as Young Pinku

Production
Principal photography commenced in August 2022 and wrapped in February 2023.

Music
The music of the film is composed by Sharib-Toshi, Ankur Tewari, Kunal Khemu, Sagar Desai, Sameer Uddin and Ajay–Atul. Lyrics are written by Kumaar, Kalim Sheikh and Kunal Khemu.

The song Baby Bring It On is a remake of same title song which was composed by Ajay–Atul for the 2016 Marathi film Jaundya Na Balasaheb.

Theatrical
The film was theatrically released on 22 March 2024.

Home media
The film was premiered on Amazon Prime Video from 17 May 2024.

Critical response
Mayur Sanap of Rediff.com rated 3/5 stars and applauded "Madgaon Express understands that its charm lies in its inherent silliness and then works around as pure unadulterated entertainment, which makes it imminently watchable". NDTV's Saibal Chatterjee rated the film 3/5 and wrote "Madgaon Express is a wild and wacky comedy of errors that rarely, if ever, pauses for a breather. The film is deliriously funny as it moves effortlessly and incessantly between slapstick and sparkling silver-tongued wit."

Conversely, Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave 1.5 stars out of 5 and stated that "too many of the jokes end in a clunk. A song line about not having fun attempts to spice up a scene when the bad guys are sleeping and the good men are trying to get away. That may have served as a summary of the entire movie".