Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Taapsee Pannu, Boman Irani, Vicky Kaushal (in a special appearance) and others
Where: In theatres near you
Rating: 2.5 stars
Rajkumar Hirani is a film genius and no actor wants to leave an opportunity to work with him — like how Vicky Kaushal agreed to play the second lead to Ranbir Kapoor in Sanju and now in Dunki, he does a special appearance in a full-fledged Shah Rukh Khan film. Fondly called Raju by our industry-wallahs, the filmmaker deals with subjects that are not known much in mainstream culture.
However, his storytelling has been laced with hypothetical scenarios and characters but his humorous approach to everything is beyond usual. His last Sanju wasn’t less than an image-cleansing tutorial of Sanjay Dutt’s controversial life. But with Dunki, he not only dealt with the subject of illegal immigration but also a love story— an SRK mandate.
Hardy (Shah Rukh Khan) and his friends dream of visiting London in the urge to earn money. Hardy is in love with Manu (Taapsee Pannu), who supports the former’s dream but Sukhi’s (Vicky Kaushal) untimely suicide changes Hardy and his life forever.
Raju’s first association with Shah Rukh Khan is as heroic as Shah Rukh’s entry in the film but 161-minute runtime feels overburdened at too many levels. The film swings between a patriotic mood and a love story that is aged well. Although, the core of it has a stark resemblance with Aa Ab Laut Chalen— a 1999 film that starred Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Akshaye Khanna.
Hirani doesn’t believe in marketing his projects and Dunki being a Shah Rukh Khan film, failed to generate enough curiosity. Shah Rukh Khan proved to be a messiah for Bollywood by saving a lot with the massive success of Pathaan and Jawan.
Vicky, who impresses with his noteworthy performance, Taapsee manages to hold a bit— a bigger challenge to be in a Shah Rukh Khan film throughout. Boman is Hirani’s favourite and a bonafide antagonist for him. Earlier, Shah Rukh had played his older version in Veer Zaara (2004), and recently in Jawan and Dunki is merely an extension.
Dunki is not an extraordinary or exceptional film from Raju’s mindfulness but Shah Rukh’s power play as an experienced might save the film.
