Imagine having this group of friends who’ve been dreaming about going to Goa forever! Every time they plan a trip, something or the other comes up. In short, the plan remains “a plan.” So, in Kunal Kemmu’s directorial comedy film, Madgaon Express, a trio of friends with different personalities—Dodo (Divyendu Sharma), Ayush (Avinash Tiwary), and Pratik (Pratik Gandhi)—plan to go to Goa together. After a gazillion failed attempts, they finally make it happen! But here’s the twist: as soon as their journey kicks off, disaster strikes left, right, and center. It’s like everything that could go wrong, does go wrong. And suddenly, Ayush, Dodo and Pratik’s dream trip turns into a nightmare! But fear not, because Madgaon Express isn’t just about bad luck and chaos. It’s a tale of friendship, dealing with crazy drug lords, dodging the police, and trying to survive Goa’s madness! In a few words, Madgaon Express is like Dil Chahta Hai meets Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, with a dash of The Hangover thrown in for good measure. Will Ayush, Dodo and Pratik make it out of Goa in one piece? Let’s find out.
Spoilers Ahead
When did Dodo, Ayush, and Pratik finally decide to go to Goa?
Let’s dive into the story of Dodo, Pratik, and Ayush, friends since their school days! Each has their own unique personality: Ayush is the charming one, Dodo is the risk-taker, and Pratik is the obedient son of his mother from a Gujarati background. Back in 1998, during a school program, they overheard a girls’ gang planning a trip to Goa. It had always been their dream destination! But darn it, something always seemed to come up, whether it was parental restrictions or, tragically, a road accident during their rebellious after-college graduation journey to Goa in 2003. After that incident, life took them on different paths. Ayush headed to New York for further studies, and Pratik went to Cape Town for family business, leaving poor Dodo alone in Mumbai. Feeling lonely, on social media he started creating fake photos with celebrities and pretend to live a lavish life to mask his reality because he did not want to be like a failure in front of his friends. But in reality, he was just delivering Jain pizza in Mumbai, and he even got sacked from there! However, his father’s constant nagging pushed him to find a real job, adding to his stress. Then, one day, his childhood friends Pratik and Ayush video-called him and said that they were returning to Mumbai after a long time! Excitedly, they proposed to stay with Dodo in his penthouse. But there’s a catch: they still believe Dodo is a billionaire! So, instead of revealing the truth, Dodo suggests they fulfill their childhood dream of going to Goa together. He’s determined to make this trip memorable for his friends, taking full responsibility for their adventure!
What happened at the train station?
Obviously, it’s been so long since the three friends met again! They’re not the same anymore; each is living their own lavish life abroad, so India’s dust and pollution affect them, especially Pratik. He always carries a bag full of allergy medicines because his health can’t handle the dirt and pollution here. As Ayush and Pratik landed in India, there was Dodo, excitedly greeting the boys! They were all thrilled to see each other again. But here’s where the real story kicks off. Ayush and Pratik expected their billionaire friend Dodo to show up in a fancy car to pick them up. But surprise! Dodo arrived in a regular Mumbai taxi, feeding them street food. They were puzzled, to say the least. But they could bear it somehow until Dodo dropped the bombshell: they were going to Goa by train—the Madgaon Express! The reason? Well, the train takes passengers through the most beautiful scenic beauty ever, going through tunnels and hills, which they would definitely enjoy, and it’s like living their childhood dream, right? So, they must enjoy it as if they don’t have any money, like in the in the old days. So if they are all rich now? They should not forget the journey from where they came! You would get a sense of how hard Dodo is trying to hide his reality. Pratik was furious! Who wouldn’t be? Plus, this filthy train journey would aggravate his allergies; he was sure of it. So, he stepped away to cool down and called his secret girlfriend from a second phone, leaving his red bag of medicines on the station floor. Coincidentally, another man with a similar red bag left his bag there too, and they got exchanged. As the train journey started, they were somewhat getting used to it, especially Pratik, who wanted to take his medicine until he opened his red bag and found no medicine inside! Instead, it contained a huge sum of money, a keychain, and a gun! They were clueless about what to do next. So, Dodo suggested throwing the bag out of the train to avoid being tracked. Little did they know, their disastrous adventure was just beginning!
What happened after they reached Goa?
There’s this thing called expectation versus reality, and that’s exactly what happened when they reached Goa! No bikini-clad girls were giving them attention, no jet ski traveling was happening, and the only things there were booze and some kind of drug given to Dodo by a stranger (and let me tell you, Kunal Kemmu’s cameo as the deranged drug addict stranger stole the show for a solid 2 minutes!). Anyways, this drug just made them go crazy and let loose, until they woke up in the morning with hookers in bed and Pratik having a tattoo on his hand, declaring his love for his mother! And then they realized something: Dodo never really threw away the bag from the train; he had taken the money and the keychain, and it lay in the room where they were staying. Just as they were processing this, someone started knocking at their door, mistaking Ayush for Ganpat, and that lady turned out to be none other than Kanchan Kombdi, the leader of a women-led gang of smugglers who pretends to be a fisherman in the outside world. They realized they were in big trouble, not just because this drug lord was after them but also because Pratik had had a cocaine overdose, and was hidden under the bed in that room! His nose was bleeding, his hands were trembling, and it felt like he was about to go crazy. So, they somewhat managed to flee the hotel until they met Tasha (played by Nora Fatehi), who took them to Dr. Danny, who turned out to be a secret agent working for the police. Dr. Danny realized these guys were innocent, so he offered to help them. But how could they trust someone when disaster keeps happening? And then there’s another drug lord, Mendoza, who actually owned the cocaine.
But the problem is, Mendoza and Kanchan Kombi have some personal feud going on because they were married before and were in love until Mendoza married some Russian girl and ditched her. From then on, Kanchan Kombdi has been out for revenge against Mendoza, and with Ganpat’s help, she’s getting into the drug business to take down Mendoza. And guess who Ganpat turned out to be? None other than the guy whose red bag got exchanged with Pratik’s, and now he has Pratik’s girlfriend too! He got hold of Pratik’s secret phone and used it to threaten him, saying that if they don’t give back the drug money, he’ll take away Mariam, Pratik’s girlfriend! But Mendoza’s men are not happy about it, and they find the three boys and tell them to find the cocaine from Mendoza’s ex-wife’s gang of fisherwomen! So, wearing sarees, Dodo and Pratik went there, until Dr. Danny and his team showed up, and they ended up shooting at each other to save the boys and get the drugs to hand over to the Goa police. But the boys decided to get out of there on their own as soon as possible, with a bag full of cocaine taken from the gang, and this time, they didn’t want to take any risks; they had to leave Goa by the Madgaon Express!
And what happened to Ganpat, Mendoza, and Kanchan Kombdi? Well, Ayush came up with a plan! They handed over the bag full of cocaine to the Goa police with Dr. Danny’s help. Then, they lured the three gang members to the station where their train was supposed to leave for Mumbai. At the same time, the police came and arrested them! As for our boys? Well, Pratik, who had always been his mother’s sweet son, decided to step up and be a man. He took Mariam to meet his mother so she could approve of their inter-religious marriage. This journey truly transformed him! And then there’s Ayush, who was about to head back to New York and planned to meet his online date, Nisha, for the first time. But guess what? Dodo revealed that he was Nisha all along, faking his identity to get in touch with Ayush. Ayush was heartbroken, but he knew his crazy friend too well. So, he hugged him and left. And what about Dodo? Well, luck was on his side! He won the lottery and decided to go to Ayush so they could this time go to Las Vegas! But, of course, Ayush had had enough of his nonsense and wasn’t ready for another crazy adventure just yet. But knowing these guys, they’ve survived it all together! So maybe they’ll risk it all once again and go on another adventure soon! And you can bet that’ll be one heck of a ride!
