Known for his heartwarming narratives and well-defined social commentary, Rajkumar Hirani’s brilliant filmography includes a good blend of emotions and laughter. Hirani is an expert at crafting scripts with clever humor, memorable dialogues, and the ability to deliver a strong moral and social message. He often causes his viewers to reflect on their own lives and makes them go back to the theatre to watch his films again.
When it was announced that Hirani’s next would be released in 2023 with a stellar cast—and not just anyone—with Shah Rukh Khan, anticipation was incredibly high. Yet, Dunki turned out to be the last of Khan’s three ‘all style, no substance’ films of 2023. This is also the worst “young” or digitally de-aged Shah Rukh Khan that we have seen this year.
The film talks about three youngsters from Punjab – Manu (Taapsee Pannu), Balli (Anil Grover), and Buggu (Vikram Kochhar). All three live for nothing but the hope of getting to England for a better life for themselves and their families. They are later joined by Hardy Dhillon (Shah Rukh Khan), who comes to visit Laltu to thank his rescuer but ends up falling in love with his sister. Together, they start their journey to London.
The central focus of Hirani’s characters’ is their simplicity yet abnormality. By setting the premise in a real-world scenario, Hirani has remained fairly consistent with his style. However, in a film that only addresses the issues of immigration and countries that have closed their doors to the poor, it does not answer the most crucial question: Why do these people desperately want to go to London?
Whether it is Manu’s family struggling to earn a living for themselves in Laltu, Buggu’s mother going to the factory wearing Western attire, or Balli’s infatuation with white women, the central tenet remains unconvincing. Real-life occurrences of such mass movements serve as inspiration for the film. Yet, Hirani’s decision to replace problems such as unemployment, war, and famine with minor inconveniences faced by the characters does not sit well with the audience. It was almost as if his technique of making light of serious situations did not work much in his favor this time.
Several times, we are hit by nostalgia after seeing tiny fragments of Hirani’s previous works. Whether it is the scene where Khan’s belongings get stolen during the National Anthem or when they join Boman Irani’s “Ielts is piece of cake” English class and still do not manage to pass. Nevertheless, every scene of the film is so mechanically constructed that it almost tells the viewers which emotion to feel at a given point.
Vicky Kaushal’s special appearance comes just in time and forms the emotional core of the film. Despite having a mere 10-minute role, Kaushal’s endearing screen presence as Sukhi manages to exhibit more emotions than any other character. However, only when
the film’s structure starts falling into place, Sukhi’s character is killed off, in an attempt to add tragedy to Hardy’s story.
For Hardy, that becomes a good enough reason to illegally travel to London through the ‘donkey route’. After killing off half a dozen characters, the group reaches London, yet the film still struggles to reach a conclusion.
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