 Rahul Mithaiwala ( Shah Rukh Khan ) is a forty @-@ year @-@ old bachelor living in Mumbai . His parents died in a car accident when he was eight years old , so his grandparents raised him . His grandfather ( Lekh Tandon ) owns a chain of confectionery shops . Before his grandfather 's 100th birthday celebration , two of Rahul 's friends invite him to accompany them on a vacation in Goa , which he accepts . Rahul 's grandfather dies on the eve of the celebration , just when he witnesses Sachin Tendulkar on TV in a cricket match get dismissed on his 99th run . His grandmother tells Rahul that his grandfather wanted his ashes to be divided into two parts — one of each to be immersed in the Ganges and Rameswaram . She asks Rahul to take the ashes to Rameswaram and disperse them . Reluctantly , he accepts her request but is also eager to attend the Goa trip . Rahul and his friends plan to dump the ashes at Goa but his grandmother wants to see him off , forcing Rahul to travel by train . He books a single ticket on the Chennai Express , planning to meet his friends along the way . However , Rahul forgets to take the ashes , and he almost misses the train when he returns to collect them . As he tries to leave the train , he notices a young woman running to board it . He helps her and four other people board the moving train , but the train leaves the station before he can get off . 
