The weakest aspect of Rajkumar Hirani’ Dunki is its plot. Coming from a director whose masterful storytelling makes us believe even the most far-fetched scenarios and root for his characters, this Shah Rukh Khan-starrer misses the mark completely. Despite a knockout cameo by Vicky Kaushal and Shah Rukh Khan trying his best, Hirani’s storytelling fails to leave a lasting impact—the characters don’t stay with you for long once the movie ends.
Hirani recovers occasionally to shine in certain scenes, but you keep yearning for that punch-in-the-gut moment. It is only in the final half-hour of this 160-minute film that you might find yourself truly moved. And even then, it feels too little too late. Hirani’s editing could have trimmed at least 30 minutes, making the film more impactful.
Co-written by Hirani, Abhijat Joshi and Kanika Dhillon, the script lacks the depth that the topic of illegal immigration demands. Given Punjab’s history of both legal and illegal migrations driven by various factors, from economic opportunities to drug and militancy issues, Dunki is woefully simplistic. At a time when OTT platforms are bringing more powerful, nuanced narratives from the region, this film seems outdated, living in the past like its characters’ lives.
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Hirani’s magic is missing
Emotion, the secret ingredient in Hirani’s films, is lacklustre in Dunki. There are more troughs than crests in the narrative. The moments of poignancy are fleeting, like when three immigrants are shot dead on their journey or when a central character dies. But the film slips right back into a no-risk, comfort zone, which is highly uncharacteristic of the director.
The desperation of people heading for a different country is lost in a meandering script that takes too much time to get to the point, with too many backstories. In fact, so much time is spent in backstories that it now feels disjointed.
The story is told in flashback, centred around three friends from the fictional town of Laltu in Punjab: Manu (Taapsee Pannu), Buggu (Vikram Kochhar) and Balli (Anil Grover). Their aspirations of a brighter future, earning in pounds in London are intertwined with the arrival of Hardy (Shah Rukh Khan), a soldier who comes to return an old tape recorder to a guardian angel who saved his life—Manu’s late brother. Determined to return the gesture, Hardy decides to help them get to London, and gets everyone enrolled in Geetu Gulani (Boman Irani)’s English classes for IELTs.
Except, we have already seen a much better version of the struggles presented in learning English, and the benefits it guarantees, in Gauri Shinde’s English Vinglish (2012) starring Sridevi. But Dunki never quite achieves the humour, poignancy, or social commentary its premise promises. It aims to depict the struggles and dreams of dreams of those chasing a better life, Hirani’s signature blend of laughter, tears, and drama remains strangely stiff, even with multiple losses in the film.
This is probably the first time when one feels jarred by the comedy in moments of actual sadness, a typical Hirani ploy. When a fraudulent immigration agent scams Buggu of his mother’s entire life earnings, the aftermath is resolved in comedy. But the moment feels cringeworthy. It is not the kind of commentary we saw at Raju’s house in 3 Idiots (2009), about poverty and education system, and his subsequent suicide attempt.
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A heartbreaking affair
Hirani’s films are often celebrated for their sharp dialogues and memorable monologues. We still remember the exchanges between Munna Bhai and Circuit in his first two films, or between Rancho-Farhan-Raju in 3 Idiots. But Dunki’s four friends never say anything that makes you pause and reflect.
Even SRK’s monologue about borders and immigration laws being stringent only for the poor and uneducated is not exactly hard-hitting.
Vicky Kaushal’s character Sukkhi, a fellow student at the institute, offers some of the film’s standout moments. But overall, Dunki is a disappointment. It is heartbreaking, quite like what you experience in the last few minutes of the film, to see a storyteller of Hirani’s caliber struggle with material that promised so much more.