Dunki review, reactions, box office predictions: All you need to know about Shah Rukh Khan’s new movie

Review of Dunki reads, “Dunki is a film that leaves you with a tearful smile. And if you couldn’t watch Animal with your families for the glorified violence, you must check out Dunki for it’s an absolute family entertainer and will be an emotional riot.”

Reactions

As soon as they watched Dunki, several users took to X (formerly Twitter) to share their reactions towards the Shah Rukh film. Entertainment journalist Haricharan Pudipeddi wrote, “#Dunki is a heartwarming and often moving drama about illegal immigrants. A story that’ll very strongly resonate with NRIs and those who’ve always aspired to build a life in a foreign land but couldn’t for various reasons. Refreshing to see @iamsrk own this with conviction after two big-budget action films this year. Not Hirani’s best but definitely works in leaving a strong impact, especially on the emotional front.”

The parody account, Rahul Gandhi 2.0, posted, “Dunki has been watched. All I can say is that SRK is truly the last of the stars in this country (crown emoji) #DunkiReview.”

Another user, by the name of Yogesh, wrote, “#DunkiReview by a Shah Rukh Khan fan cum reviewer! #Dunki is Raju Hirani’s Weakest film, It’s a bore fest of epic proportions, Shah Rukh’s acting and accent are cartoonish, You will be scrolling your mobiles in the 2nd Half!”

YouTuber Anmol Jamwal posted, “#Dunki tells an important tale but it’s far from being #RajkumarHirani’s best! The ensemble cast shines & the film highlights the plight of immigrants dreaming of a better tomorrow. The screenplay let’s the film down. Bordering on silly on many occasions. It’s good. Not great!”

Box office predictions

As per Sacnilk.com, Dunki is estimated to earn ₹30 crore on its opening day at the Indian box office. This would make Dunki Shah Rukh’s third-highest domestic box office opening this year after Pathaan ( ₹57 crore) and Jawan ( ₹74 crore).

All you need to know about Dunki

Dunki revolves around four friends in a Punjab small town and their quest to migrate to London. When they fail to do so by clearing the visa qualification exam owing to economic and language constraints, they attempt the same via the infamous illegal route, informally known as the Donkey route.

Co-written by Rajkumar Hirani, Abhijat Joshi, and Kanika Dhillon, Dunki is co-produced by Shah Rukh and wife Gauri Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment, Rajkumar Hirani Films, and Jio Studios.

At one of the events in Dubai, SRK described Dunki as his best film. “So when I made Jawan, I thought I made a film for boys and girls but I didn’t make anything for myself, then I made Dunki. So this is my film. This film is very close to my heart. When I was doing Pathaan, many people who write about films, those who apparently know about films more than the filmmakers, were saying what kind of roles I was doing, so I really felt that I should do films that come from my heart and this includes all the films that I did this year. I started the year with Pathaan, which was always ladies first, and I want to end the year with a film for myself. So, please watch Dunki on December 21. Everyone will find something in the film that will touch their heart. The film will make you laugh also,” he said.

In a 29-minute interaction shared by Shah Rukh on his official X page, Hirani said the germ of the film’s story came from the imagery of a house near Jalandhar, Punjab, with a large cemented replica of an Air India plane on its terrace, something he initially found funny.

“There are many houses in Punjab that have planes on the rooftops. I was quite amazed by that and that’s what piqued our curiosity. Family members of those children who live abroad find it fashionable to put these planes on top of their houses,” said the filmmaker.

When he started researching for the film, Hirani said he discovered how people who seek a better life in countries such as the UK and Canada take the illegal ‘donkey route’, called ‘dunki’ in Punjabi, out of India when they court visa troubles.