Dunki movie REVIEW: Shah Rukh Khan supremacy is written all over, Taapsee Pannu shines in Rajkumar Hirani’s emotional drama

Film:
Dunki movie review

Director: Rajkumar Hirani

Star performance: Shah Rukh Khan, Taapsee Pannu, Boman Irani, Vicky Kaushal, Anil Grover, Vikram Kochhar

Runtime: 161 minutes (2 hours 41 mins)

Platform: Theatres

Story

Four friends from a village in Punjab share a common dream: to go to England. Their problem is that they have neither the visa nor the ticket. A soldier promises to take them to the land of their dreams. Dunki is a hilarious and heartwarming saga of a perilous journey, borders, friendships, nostalgia for home, and love that towers above it all.

Dunki movie review

When the movie’s name was announced, I had no idea what is the meaning of Dunki and if it was even real. Well, after watching the movie, I understood the real meaning of Dunki and here’s my review of it. Rajkumar Hirani is often known for delivering light-hearted family entertainers and well, he tries to create the same magic but with some flaws. You’ll probably get to read a lot in this review, Dunki is an emotional film but not many can relate to it until you have gone through it. After I got to know the real meaning of Dunki, it made everything so clear and heart-touching.

Shah Rukh Khan starrer Dunki released

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Image source: Shah Rukh Khan Instagram

Interestingly, it is not a typical Rajkumar Hirani movie but you can still get the vibes of him. This time it seems like he picked an emotional subject rather than going all out and about with humour. He happened to add doses of humour which makes it a delightful watch. The first half of the movie takes you on a joyous ride, showing the beautiful friendship of all four friends. However, due to one terrifying incident, their lives were completely changed.

Talking about the second half of the movie, the main drama hits you. Rajkumar Hirani makes it a little dramatic and dragged. It gets a little tiresome in the second half with less depth in the story.

What’s good about Dunki

The emotional quotient: The one thing that connects one to another is the emotions towards them. Well, Dunki shows such emotions that it will bond to make you teary-eyed. I liked how Rajkumar Hirani made every character so genuine that whatever they do is very natural.

Characterisation: Every character has a story and Rajkumar Hirani showed it with the utmost beauty that it connects with you instantly. You understand their pain and their laughter very closely. I guess that’s the beauty about Rajkumar who makes his character real.

What didn’t work for Dunki

Technicalities: There were a few glitches that raised questions in me. First, Shah Rukh Khan is an army officer and how come he is taking part in Dunki? How come he is not going back to his soldier life and how come the generals and army officers are unaware of it? This aspect of the story looks a little unrealistic to me. On the other hand, when they were caught by the police, the courtroom scene looked unreal to me. No court is so emotional that they can get away with it easily.

Screenplay: The story was quite predictable, you just know what is going to happen next. I feel the second half could have been a bit more cohesive and trimmed as it seems stretched.

Star performance

It is Shah Rukh Khan supremacy that is written all over it. After delivering action-packed roles in Jawan and Pathaan, SRK plays a subdued character in Rajkumar Hirani’s directorial venture. I’m not one to talk about his acting skills but I would say that he yet again steals the show with his smile and charm. He performed phenomenally in the emotional scenes.

Taapsee Pannu excels as Manu, Hardy’s love interest. She is feisty and yet very emotional and Taapsee played it perfectly well. I liked how she picked the Punjabi accent even though it looks a bit forced in some places. Nevertheless, she will surely impress you.

Boman Irani had a limited screen space and yet, he left an impact. From his comic timing to his emotional scenes, Boman does a great job. Vicky Kaushal is also seen in a special role and oh man, this actor is so surreal. There’s an emotional scene of Sukhi where I felt he overshadowed SRK himself. He perfectly fits the bill.

Anil Grover and Vikram Kochhar are quite amusing with their characters and add special charm to their roles.

Conclusion

Concluding my review, Dunki is an emotional drama that will surely hit all the right notes. Even though the story seemed a little dragged in some parts, Shah Rukh Khan’s performance takes over everything. It is all about SRK and he demands all the right attention. Whereas Vicky Kaushal also shines in his cameo role and will steal your heart with his strong performance.

Watch Dunki trailer after the review

Also read: Dunki: Boman Irani reveals it is fun to work with Shah Rukh Khan, says ‘Aisa lagta hai ke hum trek pe hai’