How is Chennai Express such a big hit?

I went to Chennai Express with the expectations that it is going to be a bad movie -- I was wrong, it was terrible! [Read review here].
I saw Madras Cafe with the expectations that it would be an OK movie -- I was wrong again, it was surprisingly good.
This got me thinking, how is it possible that a movie like Chennai Express is grossing 200 crore+, making history, breaking box office record? Is the audience really that dumb? Or is it the hype and hoopla surrounding that movie? Is it the star power?
Every alternate movie these days claims it has broken box office records and created history. A couple of weeks after its release, everyone forgets about the movie, until you read about the cast and crew having a success bash for 45 days of the film running.
The promotions of CE were sickening crazy. SRK and Deepika were literally everywhere: TV shows, radio shows, malls, fashion shows..you name it. It was so irritating to see SRK repeat dialogues from his previous movies and do the Raj and Rahul kind of stuff he always does.
I hate hate hate stars coming on TV shows to promote their movies. I don't know how, or if ever, this trend would go away. Earlier it was limited to reality shows but now it has extended to daily soaps(Thanks for that, K-ekta Kapoor .. she started it!).
Like, do we really need to see Kareena on CID, or Deepika in Madhubala? Aren't those shows unbearable enough already, that you have to add your cheesy dialogues to those?
We get it. You have a movie releasing soon, you want us to go see it. We will, at our own time and convenience. Stop shoving it in our faces.
I remember when DDLJ was about to release, they aired 'the making of DDLJ' on TV just before its release. It was a first and all of us (us, meaning teenagers) were glued. After that, everyone showed the making of a movie before its release. Don't know when that stopped and this cringe-worthy way of movie promotions started! There was a brief phase when actresses dressed as their on-screen character for promotions..remember Vidya Balan showing up to places as a pregnant lady for Kahani promotions? That was taking it too far.
If promotions really mattered, OUATIMD would have been a hit as well.Those guys went all the way to Dubai royalty promoting their movie. But it sank without a trace.
On the other hand, there is Madras Cafe which did not have such incessant promotions, and although it is a well made movie with a good script, it is struggling to make a mark. 
Maybe its the producer/director who decide what lengths they want to go to.. Rohit Shetty is a pro when it comes to market his films.. while Shoojit Sircar, the director of Madras Cafe, seems like a person who believes that if a movie is good, it will work, with or without promotions. His last film,Vicky Donor, was a surprise hit as well.
I hope Madras Cafe does well, for the sake of Bollywood, because if movies like CE, Golmaal, Ready keep breaking records to make history, good cinema from Bollywood would soon become history.

Dear SRK, Please, just stop!

Well, the much hyped and long awaited Chennai Express finally released, and even though it seems to be making huge earnings, the film is nothing more than Bollywood masala taken to a whole new level. It is a Rohit Shetty film, the guy who gave us Golmaal series, Bol Bachchan etc., so you don't have much expectations to begin with. You know it is going to be a brainless entertainer with some slapstick humor and OTT action sequences.
Add to that an ageing superstar, who delivers a performance that you can easily use as a definition of over-acting.
SRK plays Rahul (what else!) who sets out on a journey - meets a girl running away from home - trouble arises - they fall in love -- blah, blah, blah.. Seriously, there is nothing more to the story than that! 
It is supposed to be a comedy.Yes, there were a couple of funny moments, just that! 
Some of the scenes were cringe worthy.That nature's call scene, for example.. I am curious to find out who is behind that gem of a scene of cinematic history.
By the time you get used to all the zany stuff, the movie decides to shift gears to drama mode and nothing works thereafter.
Those facial expressions on Shah Rukh and his non-stop hamming do not make good comedy. Breaking all his previous records, he hams to an extent that I felt I could have a block party with ham sandwiches on the menu!
Giving credit where it is due, Deepika was great. She played the part convincingly, even her over-the-topness is likeable, until the point where she gets all melodramatic and it was downhill from there. Nevertheless, she proves she can act, unlike certain other top actresses (hint : Barbie rivals), who've been in the industry for years but still have the acting chops of a wooden log.
SRK, please don't ruin the memory of my teenage years. I along with countless others grew up watching Raj and Rahul, adoring you for your charm on screen, falling in love with love like you portrayed it and loving you for being the superstar you were. I have grown up since then. I would love for you to do the same and stop playing these silly characters in every other movie. What makes you do movies like this is beyond my understanding. Money can't be your problem - you surely have enough of that to adopt a small African country. You are not a retired actor trying to make a comeback, you're still the Badshah of Bollywood. And I am sure directors would be waiting in line to work withyou. Why,then, are you doing this?
Enough of the Rahuls please and some more of the Kabir Khans (Chak De) and Mohan Bhargavs (Swades).