Rajkumar Hirani admits Dunki didn’t appeal to masses: ‘Middle class get their visas easily’

Dunki released in 2023.

There is little disagreement that Rajkumar Hirani’s last outing, Dunki, starring Shah Rukh Khan, landed as a relatively middling experience. Released amid significant hype, fuelled by the coming together of two major names in Hindi cinema, the film ultimately fell short of expectations. Its box office performance was also modest when viewed in contrast to Hirani’s earlier successes, as well as Shah Rukh Khan’s own 2023 blockbusters Jawan and Pathaan.

‘Why did we leave our country?’

Now, Hirani has spoken about the making of the film and what, in his view, didn’t quite land with audiences. In a conversation with Sanjay Arora on his YouTube channel, the filmmaker reflected on how different stories connect with different sections of viewers. He said, “Every film will touch different people differently. When you make 3 Idiots, it is about the education system, which touched every household, so it will reach every household. So when I am making a film like Dunki, it is restricted to the people who are into illegal immigration.”

He added that even today he continues to receive messages from people who have lived that experience and appreciated its representation. “I get messages from Canada, America, from people who have actually done it and whose life has been affected. People who are living there are saying, ‘We are living here, but we are suffering,’ and they are like, ‘Why did we leave our country, we should have stayed there.’ So of course that section of people is limited.”

‘Middle-class people get visas easily’

Hirani further explained, “Our cinema audiences are middle-class audiences who can easily get visas, but there is also a population whose visa can never get approved. We can travel when we get a US visa, but what about those people who don’t have money, no bank balance? They have no chance of getting a visa, meaning they are condemned to stay where they are born, with no chance to travel. I think some people here could not relate to that.” Hirani also clarified that he still stands by the film. “Not that nobody related with the film, I am still very proud of the film. But if you don’t relate to certain things, they impact you less. Every filmmaker’s life has that graph, some films affect a larger audience, some affect fewer.”

He also shared how the idea first came to him. According to Hirani, an assistant once told him that Punjab was full of English-speaking coaching centres where youngsters were preparing for visas, which immediately struck him as unusual. On further research, he discovered that many of these classes catered to students trying to move abroad on study visas.

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‘It was both sad and humorous’

Hirani even attended some of these classes as part of his research, going in disguise as a student. “I went to a school wearing a mask, this was during Covid. I said I need admission, so they gave me a full presentation and I attended a trial class. It was a small room full of 10–12 students, men and women, all above 30, and well what should I say about the teacher? It was both sad and humorous. The ones teaching English didn’t know English, and those learning weren’t really interested as well, they just wanted a student visa and to move abroad.”

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Earlier, in a conversation with Komal Nahta, Hirani had spoken about the making of Dunki and its box office performance. “Before making any film, Abhijat Joshi (co-writer) and I always try to find a unique idea that has not been seen before. Dunki came after I learned about this world where people without passports and visas want to leave India, especially in Ludhiana. These stories were both sad and funny. Funny because the so-called teachers teaching English don’t know the language. It was definitely a task to write the script. But at some point, we were convinced the film had both entertainment and story. But it is difficult to say how people will react. Some stories resonate, some don’t. Even today, I can’t tell what works and what doesn’t.”

He added, “We put the same kind of effort into all our films, but sometimes you succeed, sometimes you succeed less. I am lucky.” When asked which film performed below expectations, he quickly responded, “Dunki.”

Starring Shah Rukh Khan, Vicky Kaushal, and Taapsee Pannu, Dunki went on to earn a lifetime global collection of around Rs 454 crore, according to Sacnilk.