Rajkumar Hirani ADMITS Shah Rukh Khan starrer Dunki underperforming at the box office, says, “Sometimes you succeed less”

Shah Rukh Khan starrer Dunki was released in 2023, after the stellar success of Pathaan and Jawan. While the film had its heart at the right place and generated a significant amount of buzz, it had an underwhelming run compared to Pathaan and Jawan. Rajkumar Hirani recently discussed the film’s performance in a chat with Komal Nahta.

Rajkumar Hirani on Dunki underperformance

In an interview, Rajkumar spoke about making Dunki and its performance at box office. He said, “Before making any film, I always try with Abhijat (Joshi) that we try and find a unique idea, which is never seen before. Dunki happened after I learnt about this world where people without passport and visa wanting 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 of the film. But, after a point, we were convinced that the film has both entertainment and story. But, it is difficult to say how people will react to the story. Some stories resonate with people and some don’t. Till date, I can’t tell what works and what doesn’t.”

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He added, “We put the same kind of effort for all of our films, but the thing is sometimes you succeed, sometimes you succeed less. I am lucky.” However, when asked, “One film that performed less at the box office than you expected,” the filmmaker quickly replied, “Dunki”.

Talking about Dunki, it is a heart-warming tale of four friends and their quest to reach foreign shores for a better life via donkey flight, an illegal route. The film earned over Rs 450 crores worldwide. Apart from King Khan, it also starred Taapsee Pannu and Vicky Kaushal in key roles.

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