Dunki | |
---|---|
Directed by | Rajkumar Hirani |
Written by | |
Produced by |
|
Starring |
|
Narrated by | Vikram Kochhar |
Cinematography | C. K. Muraleedharan Manush Nandan Amit Roy |
Edited by | Rajkumar Hirani |
Music by | Songs: Pritam Shekhar Ravjiani Background Score: Aman Pant |
Production companies |
|
Distributed by | see below |
Release date |
|
Running time | 161 minutes [2] |
Country | India |
Language | Hindi |
Budget | ₹85–120 crore [a] |
Box office | est.₹470.6 crore [5] |
Dunki [b] is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film based on the illegal immigration technique called "donkey flight". The film is co-written, co-produced, edited and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, under Rajkumar Hirani Films, along with Jio Studios and Red Chillies Entertainment. It stars Shah Rukh Khan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal and Boman Irani.
The film was officially announced in April 2022. Principal photography began the same month and occurred sporadically in several legs. It wrapped by late-April 2023, and filming locations included Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kashmir, Budapest, London, Jeddah and Neom. The film has music composed by Pritam and Shekhar Ravjiani, background score composed by Aman Pant, cinematography handled by C. K. Muraleedharan, Manush Nandan, Amit Roy, and editing by the director Rajkumar Hirani.
Dunki was theatrically released worldwide on 21 December 2023. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from both critics and audiences, alike. Dunki grossed ₹470 crore crore worldwide against a production and marketing budget of ₹120 crore (US$14 million), emerging as the fifth highest-grossing Hindi film of 2023 and the eighth highest-grossing Indian film of 2023. At the 69th Filmfare Awards, the film received nine nominations, and won Best Supporting Actor for Kaushal. [7]
This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed.(December 2024) |
World War II created a shortage of labour in England, so they started migrating workers from India in large numbers to work in their fields and factories. Many youths from Punjab took this opportunity to make a life for themselves in London, and this soon spurred other youths to find ways to migrate to England. The Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 put an end to migration and it was now difficult to move to London, but the dream persisted. In 2020, a middle-aged Manu Randhawa escapes from a hospital in London, England and meets Advocate Puru Patel, an immigration lawyer of Indian origin. Manu demands a visa to travel to India, but Puru states that receiving an Indian visa is difficult for her due to her past actions. Thus, Manu requests Puru's assistance in calling her ex-lover, Hardayal Singh Dhillon, also known as Hardy, who is ecstatic who receive Manu's phone call in Laltu, Punjab, India after 25 years. Hardy abandons a chance to win the local elderly athletics competition held at Laltu to talk to Manu, who asks Hardy to meet her in Dubai, UAE in order to bring her back to India because she is unable to receive an Indian visa. Manu and her two friends, Buggu Lakhanpal and Balli Kakkad, board an airplane from London to travel to Dubai and meet Hardy.
Over a flashback 25 years prior, in 1995, Manu, Buggu and Balli are shown to be living in Laltu and yearning to immigrate to England for a better life. Manu's mansion was mortgaged and she worked as a cook at a local dhaba, Buggu's mother worked as a security guard at a local factory and Balli worked as a barber since his mother worked as a tailor to make ends meet. Poor and uneducated, the three are unable to secure a visa for England despite trying various methods. The travel agent instructs Manu to learn wrestling, so that she can receive a sports visa on the Indian Wrestling team for the Olympics. One day, Hardy, an ex-soldier from the Indian Army, arrives in their village in a train from Pathankot as his life was saved by Manu's brother, Mahinder, when he was shot by terrorists in a war. Mahinder was a civilian, but carried Hardy on his shoulders to the nearest military hospital and even stayed with him for many weeks till he was out of danger. After being discharged from the hospital, Hardy decides to return his tape recorder that he had left behind, but realises that Mahinder has died in an accident, being survived by his widow and her son, and leaving Manu and her family in a poor financial situation. Hardy promises to help Manu reach London in return for her brother's kindness and starts to teach her wrestling moves. After Manu returns to the agent, she finds that he was a fraud and has escaped after taking ₹1.5 lakhs from Buggu and ₹30,000 from Balli. Buggu was asked to pose as a kidney doctor with fake degrees, but he fails the simple questions from the immigration officer. Balli was asked to marry a British citizen supposedly in India, but it turns out that many other men had paid their agents to marry the same woman, who never existed in reality.
When Hardy informs Manu, Buggu and Balli that it is easier to receive a UK student visa by passing the IELTS test, they all enroll at an IELTS coaching class taught by Geetu Gulati, where they meet another student, Sukhi Singh. Sukhi wants to travel to London to save his ex-girlfriend named Jassi, who was forcefully married off to an NRI man named Tidda and is physically abused by him. When Geetu mocks Hardy in class, Manu stands up for him and defends him by stating that a good teacher is like Hardy, who supports the students and makes them practice instead of mocking them. Since Geetu is not an effective teacher, Hardy comes up with a generic speech which can be delivered against any topic in the speaking test and makes everyone memorise it. However, the IELTS test goes differently for everyone, with only Balli receiving the opportunity to use the generic speech. Balli eventually clears the exams and flies to London with a student visa, while the remaining four fail and are left in a fix in India. Once in London, Balli sends photographs of himself in front of a luxurious house and a car, making his friends and family in India believe that he has made it big in the UK. He also calls Sukhi to break the news of Jassi having committed suicide after learning about Sukhi failing in IELTS, causing a devastated Sukhi to douse himself in kerosene and commit self-immolation. At Sukhi's funeral, a traumatised Hardy promises to take Manu and Buggu to London himself through the last resort available: the "Dunki" route which is the Indian version of the donkey route for the people who enter a foreign country illegally without a passport or visa.
The film then transverses through Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey as Hardy, Manu and Buggu begin a treacherous journey for England and are joined by Chameli Nagra, Parminder Dingra, also known as Pampi, and Gulab Nagra, who are three more village folks from Laltu. While crossing through Iran, they run into a ruthless border patrol and Chameli, Pampi and Gulab are tragically shot dead by them. The patrol detains the three survivors, but when one of the officers attempts to rape Manu, an enraged Hardy retaliates by eliminating him and the other two patrol officers. Hardy, Manu and Buggu proceed to jump aboard a train, travelling through the scorchy deserts and encountering snowy mountains, and board a cargo container on the last leg of the sea voyage, in which they miserably spend 27 days and the conditions are worse than a sewer. Finally, much to their happiness, the three manage to reach London, where they are shocked to find Balli working as a living statue and realise that the photographs that Balli had sent were fake. Balli is actually leading a hand-to-mouth existence in England as the college of his student visa never existed. He shares a small ramshackle slum with a number of other illegal immigrants sleeping in bunk-beds, and in constant fear of being discovered by the police and immigration authorities.
Initially, the quartet finds jobs as cleaning staff in Shopping mall and large Grocery store, or as selling adult films in London. They meet Puru, who advises Manu to go through a Sham marriage as an easy way to receive British citizenship. Manu reluctantly agrees to do so by marrying a drug addict for 100 pounds. Puru states that once Manu is a British citizen, she can divorce the drug addict and then help the others become British citizens too. During the marriage ceremony in church, Hardy is enraged by the drug addict's attempt to kiss Manu, and they engage in a fight due to which the entire group is arrested by the police. However, Puru visits the quartet in prison and advises them to seek right of asylum in the court by claiming that their lives are in danger in India due to war and persecution in order to stay in the country. As an ex-soldier, Hardy refuses to betray his country, and makes a moving speech to the judge that asylum due to poverty or persecution makes no difference. However, the judge follows the law and ignores the human tragedy behind the curse of poverty, but the others follow through, rationalising their decision by pointing out all the hardships they have faced in making it so far, and the financial consequences of leaving England. As a result, Hardy is deported back to India by the police, while Manu, Buggu and Balli receive asylum in England and become British citizens, initially working as living statues.
Over the end of the flashback, in the present, Manu, Buggu and Balli reach Dubai where they reunite with Hardy after 25 years. At this point, Manu reveals to Hardy that she never got married and only published a marriage card for Hardy, so that he moved on with his life and got settled back in India. Hardy also learns that Manu is the patient of brain tumour with only one month to live, and that she wishes to return to India to spend her last days with her family, but their visa was denied by India as they had claimed asylum in England. With Geetu's help, Hardy visits Bakir, a local agent, who arranges for them to return home through the Dunki route. Armed with all the Indian paraphernalia (from Clothing to Mobile phone to Newspaper) and surrendering their passports to Bakir, the quartet attempts to leave for India through a cargo container in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, but Bakir falsely informs the Saudi immigration authorities about four Indians travelling to London in a container, having previously planned the same with Hardy. After they are arrested, Hardy deceives the immigration officials into believing that they are actually Punjabi citizens travelling illegally to England, with assistance from Geetu in India. Manu, Buggu and Balli give their names as Chameli, Pampi and Gulab, who are still listed as missing Indian citizens and India accepts them and Hardy back. The Saudi immigration authorities prove in the court that the four are Indians and deport them back to India on an airplane.
Soon after, the quartet arrives in Laltu and Manu, Buggu and Balli are satisfied to find their families whom they left behind hale and hearty, courtesy the money they earned and sent to their hometown over the years. Hardy has also renamed Manu's mansion "Manu Di Kothi" ("Manu's Mansion") and has created a Big Ben clock on top of it. While there, he shockingly confesses to Manu that he never got married because he continued to love her by the time they were separated. Hardy then proposes to her for marriage, and a delighted Manu accepts it. However, in the moments immediately after the event, Manu silently dies from her terminal illness and Hardy is stricken by grief at her sudden death. He puts the engagement ring into Manu's hands and hugs her dead body, watching the Diwali fireworks in the night with tears in his eyes, as he waited for this moment all his life but when it arrived, Hardy could not be united with his love. Six months after Manu's death, Hardy, Buggu and Balli meet an agent, who offers to take them to London through the Dunki route. Hardy throws the agent down on the ground and then the three of them move on with their lives. The film ends with an epilogue that no visa was required to enter any country just 140 years ago and that with visas came discrimination in migration. Today, borders bar only the poor who are refused visas on the basis of wealth and education. Each year, more than 1 million people try to cross borders illegally in search of a better life, and many die on the way, their bodies never to be discovered. Their families cannot perform their last rites, as they are never aware whether their loved ones are alive or dead, and of those who survive, only few of them are able to return to the home they once left.
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]
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]
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.
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]
Dunki was theatrically released on 21 December 2023. [53] [54]
Pen Studios acquired the theatrical rights for North India and West India under the Pen Marudhar Entertainment banner. [55] Sree Gokulam Movies acquired theatrical distribution rights of the film in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, [56] Rajshri Pictures distributed it in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. [57] Mysore territory rights was acquired by Panorama Studios. [58] SVF acquired the theatrical rights for West Bengal. [59] [ non-primary source needed ]
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]
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]
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$3.4 million) in India and ₹58 crore (US$6.9 million) worldwide. [5] [67] It had net domestic collections of ₹20 crore (US$2.4 million), worldwide collection ₹45.40 crore (US$5.4 million) and a net ₹24.5 crore (US$2.9 million) and worldwide collection ₹53.82 crore (US$6.4 million) on its second and third day, respectively. [5] [68] [69] Dunki ended its run with ₹262.25 crore (US$31 million) in India, while ₹212.42 crore (US$25 million) net in Hindi and become 27th highest Hindi net collection, with a further ₹208.35 crore (US$25 million) in overseas, for a worldwide total of ₹470.6 crore (US$56 million). [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]
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] [74]
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". [75] 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". [76] A reviewer for Pinkvilla considered it "a modern-day classic", but was critical of the film's pace. [77] 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." [78] Filmfare 's Devesh Sharma was pleased by the film's messaging of "a world beyond borders", and praised the performances of Khan and Pannu. [79] 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. [80] 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." [81]
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. [82] A reviewer for Film Companion also believed that Kaushal's special appearance had enhanced the "simplistic" film. [83] Writing for The Hindu , Anuj Kumar considered Dunki "not the best of Hirani but has just about enough to make you chuckle and churn". [84] 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". [85]
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". [86] 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". [87] 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. [88]
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". [89] 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". [90]
Award | Ceremony date | Category | Recipients | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Filmfare Awards | 28 January 2024 | Best Actor | Shah Rukh Khan | Nominated | [91] [92] |
Best Actress | Taapsee Pannu | Nominated | |||
Best Supporting Actor | Vicky Kaushal | Won | |||
Best Music Director | Pritam | Nominated | |||
Best Lyricist | Javed Akhtar for "Nikle The Kabhi Hum Ghar Se" | Nominated | |||
Swanand Kirkire and IP Singh for "Lutt Putt Gaya" | Nominated | ||||
Best Male Playback Singer | Arijit Singh for "Lutt Putt Gaya" | Nominated | |||
Sonu Nigam for "Nikle The Kabhi Hum Ghar Se" | Nominated | ||||
Best Choreography | Ganesh Acharya for "Lutt Putt Gaya" | Nominated | |||
International Indian Film Academy Awards | 28 September 2024 | Best Actress | Taapsee Pannu | Nominated | [93] [94] [95] |
Best Lyricist | Javed Akhtar – "Nikle The Kabhi Hum Ghar Se" | Nominated | |||
Swanand Kirkire, IP Singh – "Lutt Putt Gaya" | Nominated | ||||
Best Male Playback Singer | Diljit Dosanjh – "Banda" | Nominated |
Shahrukh Khan, also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as the "Baadshah of Bollywood" and "King Khan", he has appeared in more than 100 films, and earned numerous accolades, including 14 Filmfare Awards. He has been awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India, as well as the Order of Arts and Letters and Legion of Honour by the Government of France. Khan has a significant following in Asia and the Indian diaspora worldwide. In terms of audience size and income, several media outlets have described him as one of the most successful film stars in the world. Many of his films thematise Indian national identity and connections with diaspora communities, or gender, racial, social and religious differences and grievances.
Rajkumar "Raju" Hirani is an Indian filmmaker known for his works in Hindi films. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four National Film Awards and 11 Filmfare Awards. Hirani is referred as one of the most successful filmmakers of Indian cinema. His movies are often lighthearted but revolve around significant societal issues with humour and emotional intelligence.
Red Chillies Entertainments Private Limited, doing business as Red Chillies Entertainment; abbreviated as RCE is an Indian Multinational Entertainment Conglomerate company established by actor Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan in 2002. It was transformed from the defunct Dreamz Unlimited. Based in Mumbai, the studio's activities span across creative development, production, marketing, distribution, licensing, merchandising and syndication of films in India and worldwide. They are also a visual effects company. Its business mainly includes film production, film distribution, TV series or Web series production, TV Commercials production, visual effects, Professional Sports league Organisation, Edutainment and many more. Throughout the last several years, Red Chillies has acquired the rights to several Hindi films.
Tapasee Pannu, professionally known as Taapsee Pannu, is an Indian actress who works primarily in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. Pannu is a recipient of several accolades including two Filmfare Awards and a Filmfare OTT Award.
Shah Rukh Khan is an Indian actor, producer and television personality who works in Hindi films. He began his acting career by playing a soldier in the Doordarshan series Fauji (1988), a role that garnered him recognition and led to starring roles in more television shows. He soon started receiving film offers and had his first release with the romantic drama Deewana (1992), in which he played a supporting part. Khan subsequently played villainous roles in the 1993 thrillers Baazigar and Darr, box office successes that established his career in Bollywood. In 1995, Khan starred opposite Kajol in Aditya Chopra's romance Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, that became the longest running Indian film of all time. He continued to establish a reputation in romantic roles by playing opposite Madhuri Dixit in Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), and Kajol in the Karan Johar-directed Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001).
PK is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language science fiction comedy-drama film edited and directed by Rajkumar Hirani and written by Hirani and Abhijat Joshi and jointly produced by Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra under the production banners of Rajkumar Hirani Films and Vinod Chopra Films, respectively. A religious satire, the film stars an ensemble cast of Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Sushant Singh Rajput, Boman Irani, Saurabh Shukla and Sanjay Dutt.
Vicky Kaushal is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards, and has appeared in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list of 2019.
Naam Shabana is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Shivam Nair and written by Neeraj Pandey. The film is a prequel to the 2015 film Baby with Taapsee Pannu reprising her role as Shabana Khan alongside Prithviraj Sukumaran and Manoj Bajpayee with an ensemble supporting cast. Akshay Kumar, Madhurima Tuli, Elli Avram, Anupam Kher, Danny Denzongpa, Murali Sharma, Taher Shabbir and Shibani Dandekar in special appearances.
Sanju is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language biographical film directed and edited by Rajkumar Hirani, written by Hirani and Abhijat Joshi and produced by Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra under the banners Rajkumar Hirani Films and Vinod Chopra Films. The film chronicles the life of Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, notably focusing his drug addiction, arrest for his suspected association with the 1993 Bombay bombings, relationship with his father, and acting career. Ranbir Kapoor stars as the title character, along with an ensemble supporting cast of Paresh Rawal, Vicky Kaushal, Manisha Koirala, Anushka Sharma, Dia Mirza and Jim Sarbh.
Soorma is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language biographical sports drama film based on the life of hockey player Sandeep Singh. Directed by Shaad Ali and produced by Sony Pictures Networks India and C.S. Films, the film stars Diljit Dosanjh, Angad Bedi and Taapsee Pannu in lead roles. It was released theatrically on 13 July 2018.
Taapsee Pannu is an Indian actress who works in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil language films.
Badla (transl. Revenge) is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language mystery thriller film directed by Sujoy Ghosh and starring Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Tony Luke and Amrita Singh. The film is produced by Universal Entertainment, Red Chillies Entertainment and Azure Entertainment and is an official remake of the 2016 Spanish film The Invisible Guest. The story follows an interview between a lawyer and a businesswoman, in which the latter insists that she is being wrongfully framed for the murder of her lover.
Pathaan is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Siddharth Anand and produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films. Written by Shridhar Raghavan and Abbas Tyrewala on the basis of an original story by Anand, it serves as the fourth instalment in the YRF Spy Universe, and stars Shah Rukh Khan in the titular role, alongside Deepika Padukone and John Abraham, and Dimple Kapadia and Ashutosh Rana in supporting roles. The first instalment in the universe to observe a crossover among characters and officially instate the universe as a brand, it follows an exiled RAW agent, who works with ISI agent Rubina Mohsin to take down Jim, a former RAW agent, who plans to attack India with a deadly lab-generated virus.
Jawan ( transl. Soldier) is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film co-written and directed by Atlee in his Hindi film debut. It is produced by Gauri Khan and Gaurav Verma under Red Chillies Entertainment. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan in a dual role as a father and son alongside Nayanthara, Vijay Sethupathi, Priyamani and Sanya Malhotra with Deepika Padukone in a special appearance. In the film, the jailer of a woman's prison recruits inmates and commits acts that shed light on corruption in India.
Mukesh Chhabra is an Indian casting director, filmmaker and actor. Some of his notable works include Bajrangi Bhaijan (2015), Bombay Velvet (2015), Dangal (2016), Dil Bechara (2020), Scam 1992 (2020), Laal Singh Chaddha (2022), Commando (2023), Jawan (2023), Dunki (2023), Chamak (2023) and Kafas (2023).
Dunki is the soundtrack to the 2023 film of the same name directed by Rajkumar Hirani and stars Shah Rukh Khan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal and Boman Irani amongst several others. The album featured eight songs composed by Pritam and one song by Shekhar Ravjiani. The lyricists are Swanand Kirkire, IP Singh, Javed Akhtar, Irshad Kamil, Varun Grover, Kumaar and Amitabh Bhattacharya. After four of the songs were released as singles, the album was released on 18 December 2023 through the T-Series label.
Taapsee Pannu – her name leads the title cards