The story follows Rahul Mithaiwala (Shah Rukh Khan), a 40-year-old bachelor who, through a series of mishaps, boards the Chennai Express to escape a Goa trip and ends up in South India. He meets Meenalochini Azhagusundaram (Deepika Padukone), the daughter of a local Tamil don, who is fleeing a forced marriage to Tangaballi (Nikitin Dheer).