In 2020, Manu Randhawa, a middle-aged woman, escapes from a hospital in London and approaches Advocate Puru Patel, an immigration lawyer of Indian origin, to obtain a visa to travel to India. Puru informs her that getting an Indian visa is nearly impossible due to her previous asylum claim, as she had stated in court that her life was in danger in India. Determined to return, Manu calls her ex-lover, Hardy, in Laltu, Punjab, after 25 years. Hardy, an elderly athlete, abandons his competition to speak with her. Manu requests him to meet her in Dubai so he can take her back to India since she cannot travel there legally. Along with her friends, Buggu Lakhanpal and Balli Kakkad, Manu boards a flight from London to Dubai.
A flashback to 1995 reveals Manu, Buggu, and Balli struggling to immigrate to England from Laltu, Punjab. Desperate and uneducated, they attempt various methods but fail to secure visas. A travel agent suggests Manu learn wrestling to qualify for a sports visa. Around the same time, Hardy, an ex-soldier from the Indian Army, arrives in their village after being saved by Manu's brother, Mahinder. When Hardy learns that Mahinder has passed away, leaving his family in financial distress, he decides to help Manu achieve her dream of reaching London. He begins training her in wrestling, but their hopes shatter when the agent disappears with ₹1.5 lakhs from Buggu and ₹30,000 from Balli.
Hardy then suggests they pursue student visas by passing the IELTS test. They enroll in a coaching center run by an ineffective teacher, Geetu Gulati, where they meet Sukhi, who hopes to rescue his ex-girlfriend Jassi from her abusive NRI husband in London. Hardy devises a memorized speech for the speaking section, but only Balli gets to use it. Balli passes the test and moves to London, while the others fail. Later, Balli sends deceptive photos of himself in front of a luxurious house, making his friends and family believe he has succeeded. However, Sukhi learns that Jassi has died by suicide upon discovering his failure, leading him to set himself on fire. At Sukhi’s funeral, a devastated Hardy swears to take Manu and Buggu to London through the illegal "Dunki" route.
Their journey is perilous, involving travel through deserts, mountains, and a suffocating 27-day cargo container voyage. When they finally reach London, they are disillusioned to find Balli struggling as a living statue. The harsh reality sets in: Balli’s college never existed, and he is barely surviving. The group takes up menial jobs, including working as cleaning staff and selling adult films.
Puru advises Manu to enter a sham marriage with a drug addict to gain British citizenship. Manu reluctantly agrees, but during the wedding, Hardy attacks the groom, leading to their arrest. Puru then suggests seeking asylum by falsely claiming that their lives are in danger in India. Hardy, a patriot, refuses and delivers an emotional speech in court, condemning the system that forces people into such choices. However, the judge upholds the law, resulting in Hardy’s deportation while Manu, Buggu, and Balli are granted asylum and become British citizens.
Years later, Hardy learns that Manu has terminal brain cancer with only a month to live. Desperate to return to India, she finds her visa request denied due to her asylum status. With Geetu’s help, Hardy seeks out Bakir, an agent who arranges their return via the Dunki route. Disguised as missing Indian citizens and surrendering their passports, they board a cargo container in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. However, Bakir betrays them by tipping off Saudi authorities, who detain them. Hardy tricks the officials into believing they are Indians traveling illegally to England, allowing India to accept them back.
Once home, Hardy confesses his lifelong love for Manu and proposes to her. Overwhelmed with joy, Manu accepts, but moments later, she silently passes away. Heartbroken, Hardy places the engagement ring on her hand and mourns as Diwali fireworks light up the sky.
Six months later, Hardy, Buggu, and Balli meet another agent offering illegal passage to London. Instead of accepting, Hardy throws him down, choosing to move on with his life. The film closes with a somber epilogue, highlighting the tragic realities of illegal migration: over a million people cross borders illegally each year, many die unknown, and their families remain unaware of their fate. Only a few ever return home.
Vijayant Kohli as the Man whom Hardy wrongly assumes as Chaddha
Vivek Sharma as Dunki Agent in last scene
Production
Development
In late November 2020, Rajkumar Hirani, who had previously approached Shah Rukh Khan for the roles in the films Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003) and 3 Idiots (2009), which were rejected by Khan, was reported to join hands with the latter for his next directorial.[8] Hirani narrated the story to Khan during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.[9] The film marks Khan's first collaboration with Hirani. By August 2021, the screenplay was completed and the film was announced in April 2022.[10][11] Hirani co-wrote the film with Abhijat Joshi and Kanika Dhillon.[8] Cinematographer Amit Roy was chosen first, but he left the film due to creative differences with Hirani and was replaced by C. K. Muraleedharan. This marks his fourth collaboration with Hirani after Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), 3 Idiots and PK (2014).[12] As per reports Manush Nandan, Amit Roy and Kumar Pankaj also worked on the film as cinematographers.[13][14]
Casting
Mukesh Chhabra was the casting director.[15]Taapsee Pannu was cast as the female lead in January 2021 marking her first onscreen collaboration with Khan. Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment produced her film Badla (2019).[16][17] Vicky Kaushal was announced to be playing a significant role in the film.[18]Boman Irani joined the cast in October 2022.[19]
Filming
Principal photography commenced in April 2022 in Mumbai.[20][21] The Mumbai schedule ended in June 2022 and the international schedules commenced in July 2022.[22] Filming took place in Budapest and London in July 2022,[23] and was completed a month later.[24] A bike sequence featuring Khan was filmed in Mumbai in October 2022.[25] A 12-day schedule took place in November 2022 in Saudi Arabia,[26][27][28] which included the locations Jeddah and Neom.[29][30] In Riyadh, few shots were taken of the Al Rajhi Grand Mosque, which was shown in the film as part of Jeddah's skyline whereas the Al-Hukm Palace was depicted as the building of a Saudi immigration court. A three-day schedule happened in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh in December 2022.[31] In January 2023, the underwater sequence featuring Khan was filmed in Mumbai.[32] Meanwhile, Khan who was also working on another project Jawan finished his shooting in April 2023.[33] The same month, the team moved to Kashmir for a four-day schedule that took place in Srinagar, Pampore, Sonamarg including Thajwas glacier and Pulwama.[34][35] A song sequence was shot in Kashmir choreographed by Ganesh Acharya.[36] The filming was wrapped up in Sonamarg, Kashmir by April 2023.[37] The film was shot over 75 days out of which Khan shot for 60 days. The film is reportedly budgeted at ₹120 crore, including the marketing cost.[4][38]
The soundtrack is composed by Pritam and Shekhar Ravjiani, while background score is composed by Aman Pant.[39] The first single titled "Lutt Putt Gaya" was released on 22 November 2023.[40] The second single titled "Nikle The Kabhi Hum Ghar Se" was released on 1 December 2023.[41] The third single titled "O Maahi" was released on 11 December 2023.[42] The fourth single titled "Banda" was released on 18 December 2023.[43] The soundtrack album featuring eight songs was released by T-Series on 18 December 2023.
Marketing
The film's teaser titled "Dunki: Drop 1" was released on 2 November 2023 coinciding with Khan's 58th birthday.[44] In all, 8 "Drops" were released one after another.[45] Drop 2 was released on 22 November as the song "Lutt Putt Gaya".[46] Drop 3 was released on 1 December as the song "Nikle The Kabhi Hum Ghar Se".[41] The film's trailer titled "Dunki: Drop 4" was released on 5 December 2023.[47] Drop 5 was released on 11 December as the song "O Maahi".[48] A promotional event was held in Dubai on 17 December.[49] Drop 6 was released on 18 December as the song "Banda".[50] "Dunki: Drop 7" was released on 27 December as the song "Main Tera Rasta Dekhunga".[51] "Dunki: Drop 8" was released on 4 January 2024 as the song "Chal ve Watna".[52]
Release
Theatrical
Dunki was theatrically released on 21 December 2023.[53][54]
The overseas distribution rights were sold to Yash Raj Films.[60] Home Screen Entertainment bought Singapore distribution rights of the film,[61][non-primary source needed] while Lighthouse Distribution acquired the distribution rights for Spain.[62] Action Cut Entertainment distributed the film in Bangladesh.[63]
Home media
The combined value of the digital, satellite, and music rights of the film was ₹230 crore.[64] The film was premiered on Netflix from 15 February 2024.[65]
Reception
Box office
Dunki had the 13th-biggest advance booking of all time for a Hindi film.[66] On its opening day, it collected a net total of ₹28 crore (US$3.2million) in India and ₹58 crore (US$6.7million) worldwide.[5][67] It had net domestic collections of ₹20 crore (US$2.3million), worldwide collection ₹45.40 crore (US$5.2million) and a net ₹24.5 crore (US$2.8million) and worldwide collection ₹53.82 crore (US$6.2million) on its second and third day, respectively.[5][68][69]Dunki ended its run with ₹262.25 crore (US$30million) in India, while ₹212.42 crore (US$25million) net in Hindi and become 27th highest Hindi net collection, with a further ₹208.35 crore (US$24million) in overseas, for a worldwide total of ₹470.6 crore (US$54million).[5]Dunki managed to sold 12 million tickets and overall 8.6 crore in this year for Khan.[70] It became highest grossing comedy film of post pandemic era and also became eighth highest grossing Indian film and fifth highest gross Hindi film in 2023.[71][72]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 46% of 24 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6/10.The website's consensus reads: "Dunki's got good intentions and no shortage of heart, but its uneven tonal blend and shallow treatment of serious themes undermines the intended effect."[73]
Tushar Joshi of India Today gave 4/5 stars and wrote "Dunki might not be Hirani's best work in comparison to 3 Idiots or PK, but it still entertains and leaves you with a warm and fuzzy feeling".[74] Sreeparna Sengupta of The Times of India also gave 4/5 stars and wrote, "Dunki's story is an emotional one - rolling in friendship, romance, heart-wrenching and heart-warming moments all into one. And in trademark Hirani style, there are dollops of comedy which is laced with satire to make it an entertaining ride, along with the strong message the film brings forth".[75] A reviewer for Pinkvilla considered it "a modern-day classic", but was critical of the film's pace.[76] A reviewer from Bollywood Hungama awarded the film 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Dunki bears the Rajkumar Hirani stamp of filmmaking with the right message and emotions as a backdrop. However, it is not as outstanding as his previous films as the writing plays spoilsport to a great extent."[77]Filmfare's Devesh Sharma was pleased by the film's messaging of "a world beyond borders", and praised the performances of Khan and Pannu.[78] Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times labelled it a "heartwarming tale that's high on emotions", but despite praising the performances of Khan and Pannu, she was displeased with their chemistry.[79] Proma Khosla of IndieWire rated the film C+ and wrote "In the end, Dunki undermines its own messaging, sandwiching a series of informative cards about donkey flights between a rushed conclusion and comedic coda."[80]
NDTV's Saibal Chatterjee believed that the film's strength lay in its ability to not be in service of Khan's stardom, instead allowing the supporting cast to shine, particularly Vicky Kaushal.[81] A reviewer for Film Companion also believed that Kaushal's special appearance had enhanced the "simplistic" film.[82] Writing for The Hindu, Anuj Kumar considered Dunki "not the best of Hirani but has just about enough to make you chuckle and churn".[83]Mint Lounge's Uday Bhatia compared it negatively to The Dupes (1973), a Syrian film about border crossing, writing that unlike that film, Dunki "is only interested in illegal immigration and the refugee crisis to the extent that it allows Hirani and Khan to grandstand".[84]
Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com rated the film 2.5/5 and opined, "Dunki is high on ambition but its flimsy premise renders this nearly three hours long journey into farfetched adventures hard to believe, harder to buy into".[85] Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in dismissed the film as "flat and unfunny", adding that the "strangely anodyne film is briefly enlivened by Khan's dimpled charm and spirited turns by Taapsee Pannu, Vikram Kocchar and Anil Grover".[86]Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave 1.5/5 stars and criticised it as a "crashing bore" and considered it Hirani's weakest film.[87]
Internationally, Manjusha Radhakrishnan of Gulf News rated the film 4/5 and wrote "Illegal immigration and unauthorised cross-border migrant crossings are grim issues, but director Rajkumar Hirani humanized them with an emotionally engaging tale".[88] David Tusing of The National wrote "With Dunki, Khan takes on a poignant immigration tale with a whole lot of heart that's bound to strike a chord with audiences".[89]
↑ According to DNA India, the budget of the film was ₹85 crore.[3] and According to Pinkvilla, the combined cost of producing and marketing the film was ₹120 crore.[4]
↑ "Dunki" loosely translates from Punjabi to English to mean "to hop from place to place".[6]
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↑ Verma, Sukanya (21 December 2023). "Review: Dunki Goes Nowhere". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
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