Dunki Movie Review: SRK Fails To Stir Emotions In This Over-Stretched Rajkumar Hirani Film, Vicky Kaushal Shines
It's not worth the hype!
We were eagerly waiting for the first Rajkumar Hirani and Shah Rukh Khan film titled Dunki, and finally, the long wait ended today. Dunki stars Taapse Pannu, Boman Irani, Anil Grover, and Vikram Kochhar in pivotal roles, and Vicky Kaushal appears in the movie as a cameo. The movie is co-produced by Red Chillies Entertainment and Jio Studios. Dunki strives to educate the audience about the pathetic condition of illegal immigrants who dream of having a life in the UK and tries to paint the real picture through the screenplay and characters. But does it successfully manage to create the desired impact on the audience? Well, not really! Unfortunately, with more flaws than strengths, Dunki becomes a tiresome journey with SRK as its weakest point. Here’s a detailed review of the film-
Plot
Dunki is set in Laltu, a village in Punjab. It revolves around the three characters of Manu, Ballu and Balli who desperately want a visa to the UK. Each of them has their reasons for wanting a settled life in a foreign land. But the journey to the UK is not as easy as they would like. With no proper documents, degree or money, Manu, Ballu and Sukhi are only faced with disappointments. Hardayal Singh Dhillon AKA Hardy Singh (Shah Rukh Khan) comes as a ray of hope in their life. The actor plays a soldier in Dunki, who visits Laltu just to meet someone but ends up making their dreams his life’s only goal. Well, all because he falls in love with Manu! In the first half of Dunki, the story focuses on each character’s life and why they want a visa so badly. Vicky Kaushal’s character is introduced in the first half too. The story of Dunki moves forward to show the journey of their illegal entry to the UK and tries to highlight the agony of these illegal immigrants in the country. Dunki also has a romantic subplot blossoming between Manu and Hardy, and their love story stands the test of time.
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Weakness
Screenplay
Like all Rajkumar Hirani films, we all had high hopes for Dunki, and more so because Shah Rukh Khan was playing the lead. However, it does not stand up to the expectations and the biggest failure of this film is its screenplay. The film fails to become impactful or create any sense of emotion in the audience because of the weak storyline. The story does not even do justice to its title which means “Donkey’s Route”. In the second half of the film, we get to see a little of their journey to the UK through the illegal route, also known as Dunki in Punjabi or the “Donkey’s Route”. There is little to no effort to emphasise the hardships that immigrants go through during such a life-threatening journey. In some scenes, the film also feels foolish, and you’re forced to say “Yeh kya ho raha hai bhai?” For instance, there is a scene where all the illegal immigrants walk under the water for one whole night to enter Pakistan. Well! Dunki becomes a stretched tale that wants to grab our attention towards the consequences faced by people who fail to get a visa only because they lack education, money or social status. All this becomes pointless because the theme is executed in such a way that you start feeling drowsy in the middle of it. FYI, the person sitting next to me was sleeping! It’s actually a disappointment that Rajkumar Hirani failed big time to deal with such an important topic.
Shah Rukh Khan
Dunki was SRK’s third film of 2023, and while in the first two films Pathaan and Jawan, King Khan flawlessly managed to kill it on the big screen, this time he failed miserably. TBH, his screen presence started to become annoying after a point. SRK’s de-ageing in the film was kaafi distracting. Let’s not even get started on the actor’s Punjabi accent. It was painful for the ears! His character as a soldier and the saviour for others kinda feels repetitive and meh! SRK’s charm as the king of romance does not work either. His chemistry with Taapsee Pannu is not felt at all.
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Weak Characters
Taapsee Pannu does the bare minimum in this Rajkumar Hirani film. And surprisingly, Boman Irani is also not as impressive as other Hirani films he has done. Their characters do not stay with you!
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Songs
O Maahi, Lutt Putt Gaya, Chal Ve Watna, Main Tera Raasta Dekhunga, Nikle The Hum Kabhi Ghar Se and Banda are the six songs in the film. The most impactful one among these is Chal Ve Watna. The meaningful lyrics of the song are hard-hitting. All other songs are average and not here to stay!
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Strengths
Brownie points to Rajkumar Hirani for even attempting to touch a sensitive topic such as illegal immigration and portraying the suffering of those who have to go through it only in search of food, money and a better lifestyle. But the only thing and actor that stands out in the film is Vicky Kaushal. His presence in the first half, Vicky Kaushal’s acting and the temporary trauma that his character gives the audience were the most engaging aspects of the 2-hour 40-minute film. There were some hearty moments in the film and the credit goes to the supporting actors Anil Grover (Balli) and Vikram Kochhar (Baggu). Both the actors have done justice to their characters and they make sure to light up your face with their screen presence.
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Also Read: Dunki Twitter Review: Internet Is Disappointed With Rajkumar Hirani’s Shah Rukh Khan, Taapsee Pannu Starrer FIlm
Verdict
Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki is not one of his bests, for sure! It surely came with a lot of hopes but a few minutes into the film, you know, it was not worth the hype. SRK too turned out to be a disappointment in this one. Therefore, it is recommended that you only watch Dunki on the big screens if you have no better plans for the weekends, otherwise OTT pe aa hi jaegi!
First Published: December 21, 2023 4:51 PM
