Dunki Movie Review: Shah Rukh Khan-Rajkumar Hirani Collaboration is Charming in Places; Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal Shine! (LatestLY Exclusive)

Dunki Movie Review: Shah Rukh Khan had quite a good year in 2023 with two back-to-back bangers in Pathaan and Jawan, and he is now out with his third release of the year, Dunki. Not to mention, there was also a cameo in Tiger 3. Is too much of SRK in a year a bad thing? You can debate that as much as you want, but Dunki, his first collaboration with Rajkumar Hirani - a filmmaker who has never given a flop to date - doesn't suffer from SRK overdose. The film has an enjoyable first half, a brief but effective Vicky Kaushal performance, and an interesting subject - 'donkey flights.' Yet the writing and the editing does let Dunki down at a few points. Dunki Movie Review: Critics Hail Shah Rukh Khan and Taapsee Pannu's Film, Lauds Rajkumar Hirani's Storytelling Power!

The main portion of Dunki is set in 1995 and revolves around three friends, Mannu (Taapsee Pannu), Buggu (Vikram Kochhar), and Balli (Anil Grover), who live in a village called Laltu in Punjab. They dream of going to London, hoping their present living conditions would improve, and their debts would vanish. Into their lives arrives Hardy (Shah Rukh Khan), a soldier with an emotional debt towards Mannu's family, who decides to help them get visas to London. They join an IELTS coaching class run by Gulati (Boman Irani) since getting a student visa is easier. There they meet Sukhi (Vicky Kaushal), a youngster desperate to reach London for reasons that stand apart from others. Of course, things don't go as planned, and Hardy, who has fallen in love with Mannu by then, takes it upon himself to get his friends to London through dunki.

Watch the Trailer of Dunki:

Whether they manage to reach England or not early on, the film answers that question in the beginning itself so there is suspense there. The actual mystery lies in why some are in England while Hardy is back in India, and that gets answered in the more serious second half.

But does Dunki shed more light on the process of illegal immigration than, say, Namastey England - a film starring Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra - where the plot also deals with the protagonist wanting to reach England by any means and does so through dunki? Not so much. I wanted the film to delve into more details about the arduous journey undertaken by immigrants who can't afford to buy their way into richer countries. The film serves more as a highlights reel, instead. Also, Dunki doesn't detail the circumstances that prompt people to leave their country to embark on such a dangerous journey that may even cost their lives. Even the circumstances that force our protagonists to take the donkey flight feel half-baked.

Dunki works best in the first half, where Hirani and Abhijat Joshi's trademark humour shines, and in a certain portion in the second half that's set in Dubai. The storylines of the three friends and Hardy's inclusion in their lives make for some fun moments. Once Vicky Kaushal makes an entry, things look brighter, though I was not a big fan of the coaching class portions. But Kaushal's effective cameo and the camaraderie of the cast help smooth these portions. So when the pre-interval sequence arrives that involves a well-directed death sequence, it does land an emotional gut punch.

The second half is where Dunki shows why it is named so, as Hardy and his companions travel across borders in search of a better future. Not all make it to the finishing point - there is a tense sequence in Turkey that kept me at the edge of my seat throughout. However, the film suffers from emotional dissonance in the writing once they reach London. It should have been a good moment of irony for them as they realise things aren't as sunny as they thought they would. But Hirani tries to add humour again, realising that things are getting a bit too serious. The result, however, is that it is hard to take the group's attempt to be citizens in the country seriously. When Hardy tries to sermonise to the British judge why the poor suffer the most with the visa restrictions, the intentions feel right but the scene lacks the hard-hitting impact it needed. Dunki: Shah Rukh Khan Reveals His Son AbRam Watched the Film Already and His Reaction Will Leave You Amused!

Another issue is Dunki's dependency on Hardy and Mannu's love story. The film's initial attempt to inject romance felt more like an afterthought, so when it tries to dive deep into the love story, it only works in bits and parts, mostly because of the actors involved. This feels like a missed opportunity since a couple of Dunki's emotional conflicts depended on this romance to be effectual.

Dunki does get better in the third act with a particular portion set in Dubai that has a surprise conclusion. Sonu Nigam's rendition of "Nikle The Kabhi Hum Ghar Se" with some beautiful lyrics from Javed Akhtar makes the emotional climax work.

As for the performances, I won't say this is Shah Rukh Khan's best showing of the year. The man exudes charm in the comic sequences and is quite impactful in the emotional scenes. But I wished he could have toned down the impetus he forces in his way of speaking. Taapsee Pannu delivers a good performance and matches up to her senior co-star in terms of exuberance and energy, but their chemistry deserved refining. Vikram Kochhar gets some of the film's best lines and funniest scenes, and he works those with aplomb. Anil Grover is decent. Boman Irani shines best in the scene where he meets Vicky Kaushal's character after an inciting incident between them.

Final Thoughts

Dunki is not Shah Rukh Khan's best homecoming film - that honour still belongs to far more impactful Swades. It is also not even Rajkumar Hirani's best film, with Munnabhai films and 3 Idiots safely perched on the top branches, and even Sanju managing to edge out better when it comes to emotional storytelling. The writing is occasionally lackadaisical, with little work done on making the characters' motivations more effectual; the pacing drops at several points as a result, and some of the film's emotional points don't work as they should have. Where Dunki scores is with Shah Rukh Khan's charming act, the performances of the other main cast, including an effectual Taapsee and Vicky, and occasional Hirani humour.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 21, 2023 02:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).