The King Khan of Bollywood gave us two box-office hits in 2023 - Jawan and Pathaan. Now, Shahrukh Khan is all set to release his third movie this year. This time, the acting legend has joined hands with the star director Rajkumar Hirani, known for making iconic movies like 3 Idiots, PK, Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., and Sanju. The new SRK movie called ‘Dunki’ will hit the screens on 22nd December 2023 (around Christmas), already creating a buzz among cinema lovers.
Addressing a unique story of how four Indian friends try to immigrate to England illegally, the movie beautifully traverses the comedy and drama genres. With entertainment, social messages on dreams and hardships, and everything between love, friendship, borders, and nostalgia, Dunki is expected to be a hearty watch with audiences on the edge of their seats. Here is everything you need to know about SRK Dunki, co-starring Vicky Kaushal, Taapsee Pannu, and Boman Irani, directed, co-written, and co-produced by our favourite Raju Hirani.
Things to know about SRK’s new film ‘Dunki’
1. Plot of Dunki
Dunki is a movie addressing a phenomenon called ‘donkey flight’ wherein people immigrate to a foreign country via illegal means of hopping and making pit stops at other countries before entering the target nation. With the legendary Shahrukh Khan as the lead actor and the talented Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal, and Boman Irani playing the other lead characters, this movie is all about the big dreams of people from resource-poor and small regions. The Dunki story is also the tale of four friends who dream of going to England but don’t possess a visa or ticket. That's when they indulge in an illegal scheme of immigration and then struggle to return home when the calling finally hits.
2. Cast of Dunki
The Rajkumar Hirani new movie that will hit the theatres on 22 December 2023 primarily stars Shahrukh Khan (as Hardy), Taapsee Pannu (as Many), Vicky Kaushal (as Sukhi), Boman Irani (as Gulati) and Vikram Kochchar (as Buggu). The Dunki cast also features Jeremy Wheeler, Chris Kaye (as Police Captain), Attila Arpa, and Anil Grover (as Balli).
Dunki marks the first SRK-Rajkumar Hirani and Taapsee-SRK collaboration. While SRK and Hirani share a mutual excitement to work together, Taapsee is excited about sharing the big screen with an actor as skilled and celebrated as Shahrukh Khan. The tastefully selected cast of the movie is all set to have us hooked to the screen once Dunki releases.
3. Shahrukh Khan’s take on Dunki
Dunki is Shahrukh Khan's third movie released in 2023. After average performers like Zero and Jab Harry Met Sejal, Jawan and Pathaan became massive box office hits that restored King Khan as the blockbuster giver that he had always been. Dunki comes from the epitome of cinematic brilliance, Rajkumar Hirani, and SRK expressed his enthusiasm and elation on finally being able to work with Hirani after having denied his offers of starring in 3 Idiots and Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. In Jawan’s success bash, SRK mentioned that God has been kind enough to give him three movies this year after having remained offscreen for 3 years. He further said that Dunki will be released during Christmas, and like always, it will be Eid, the day SRK Dunki is released.
4. Background premise of the movie Dunki
Reportedly, Dunki is a social drama highlighting the issue of ‘donkey flight,’ which is nothing but a serious border immigration issue. It involves illegally entering a foreign country through multiple stops in other nations. This method is used by thousands of youngsters who fail to enter a target country via legitimate means. People usually used donkey flight as an unlawful backdoor to enter nations like Canada, the UK, and the US. Dunki is the story of four Indians who go abroad illegally and then struggle to return home.
5. Director, producers, and writers of Dunki
The maker of the historic movies 3 Idiots and PK, Rajkumar Hirani, is the director of Dunki. He co-produced the movie with Gauri Khan and Jyoti Deshpande. Hirani has also co-written the film with the renowned Abhijat Joshi and Kanika Dhillon. C. K. Muraleedharan is the cinematographer of Dunki. Muraleedharan has worked with Hirani previously in 3 Idiots, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, and PK. The shooting for the movie began in September 2021 - it was first shot in Mumbai, and some shots were taken in Budapest and London in July 2022. The team went for a 12-day shoot in November 2022 in Saudi Arabia, covering locations such as Jeddah and Neom. A three-day schedule also took place in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, in December 2022. Finally, parts of the movie were shot in Kashmir over a four-day schedule in April 2023, covering places like Srinagar, Sonamarg, and Pampore. Dunki's music is from sensational music composer Pritam and Red Chillies Entertainment, Rajkumar Hirani Films, and Jio Studios are the production companies involved in making the film.
6. Dunki release date
Coming to the Dunki release date, the movie is all set for its big theatre release. Dunki will air in overseas territories on 21 December 2023 and in India on 22 December. Reportedly, there have been clashes with the release date of SRK Dunki, Akshay Kumar, and Tiger Shroff’s Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathy’s Merry Christmas had a clash of release dates with Dunki, but it was settled to be released on 15 December.
7. Meaning of the movie’s name
People have been looking for explanations of the movie’s name, and Shahrukh Khan explained the meaning of Dunki beautifully in an interview. He said the word is an Indianised, or Punjabi version of the word ‘Donkey’ because Punjabis often pronounce donkey as dunki. Thus, the movie would be called ‘Donkey’ in English. The name of the movie is in line with the overarching theme of donkey flights in the movie.
8. What to expect in the movie
Apart from starring the nation’s favourite Shahrukh Khan on screen yet again, Dunki promises to be a movie that speaks about the strenuous journey of people who want to return home when they finally get the calling. A comic film at its core, this Rajkumar Hirani creation is expected to be full of life, struggle, love, reality, comedy, and drama.