Elevated by its emotional punches, commentary on white privilege and portrayal of immigrant struggle yet marred by the jarring Punjabi accent and unconvincing humour, Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Taapsee Pannu and Vicky Kaushal, has opened to mixed reviews. The megastar’s third release this year after Pathaan and Jawan, and last release until 2025, the film packs solid emotional moments, tear-jerking monologues and like its predecessors, a few meta moments that allude to Shah Rukh Khan’s filmography and larger-than-life persona. Here’s are a few that you may have missed:
1. DDLJ-inspired Polo T-shirt
Watching a rain-drenched Raj play rugby and erupt in dramatic celebration after scoring a homerun in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) was a sexual awakening of sorts for many coming-of-age teenagers in the '90s. The scene, which is strangely sensuous, is remarkable particularly because there is no skin show one associates with male actors today.
Years later in Dunki, the iconic blue and yellow striped Polo T-shirt makes a comeback in the opening scene. Except this time, we see a septuagenarian Shah Rukh Khan compete in a race in Punjab with men his age, proudly showing off his salt-and-pepper hair and beard.
As remarkable as the original, the scene in Dunki works well because it is a nod by the actor to his age. In DDLJ, he was competing with young men in their 20s. In Dunki, it is the men in white beards who are his competition in a race. While most choose to run from it, some hide it, SRK is aware that he is old and is now embracing it. What better way to do it than recreating an iconic scene?
2. The Fauji tribute
They say any film in which Shah Rukh Khan plays a soldier becomes a massive hit. Think Veer Zaara, Pathaan, Jawan. In Dunki, SRK plays a soldier, Hardy, who after being injured in a terrorist attack in Punjab’s Patankhot is saved by Manu’s (Taapsee Pannu’s) brother.
Throughout the film, SRK calls himself a Fauji — referring to his cult 1989 TV series which aired on Doordarshan and followed a set of soldiers as they trained to become commandos in the Indian Army. In the flashbacks, we see a young Hardy get shot at the border — the footage is eerily similar to the show. “Fauji ka waada hai (It’s an Armyman’s promise),” says Hardy when his buddies doubt if he will be able to fly them to London.
In another pivotal scene in the film, when Hardy is given the choice by an immigration lawyer to seek asylum by claiming that he is being persecuted in his country, he refuses, saying “Fauji hoon main (I am an Armyman)”.
3. The iconic train shot
Hardy enters Laltu, a small town in Punjab, via a train. Presumably Raj’s distant cousin from Pathankot who didn’t get to go to London, Hardy has a hilarious encounter at the railway station where his sweets are stolen by a passenger on the train.
The scene is a tribute of sorts to Khan’s filmography where not a single film goes without a memorable train sequence — think Chaiyya Chaiyya, Raj-Simran chase, Anjali-Tina separation, Salman train fight in Pathaan. The shot is also very similar to SRK’s entry scene in Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012) where he holds on to the door and hangs on the edge of the vehicle.
4. The 3 idiots recall
In a scene from Rajkumar Hirani’s 3 idiots (2009), Farhan (R Madhavan) and Raju (Sharm Joshi) check their results of semester exams. “Neeche se check kar (look at the bottom of the sheet),” says Farhan — a moment which has been memed to death in recent times. Soon, the two realise that they have flunked the exams.
A similar frame is seen in Dunki where a large number of students surround a board around an alcohol shop to check their IELTS results. Balli (Anil Grover) and Buggu (Vikram Kochhar) lean in to look at their marks. On realising that he has managed to clear IELTS, Balli faints out of shock while the rest — Hardy, Manu, Buggu and Sukhee are left wondering if their dream of a better life abroad will ever come true.
5. Sukhee brings Masaan to life
Inarguably, Vicky Kaushal as Sukhee is the dark horse of Dunki. In a short but compelling role, Sukhee encapsulates the trauma of immigration better than any other character, so much so that Sukhee practically deserves a spin-off of its own. Vicky Kaushal’s monologue from his debut film Masaan (2015) and his cry “Ye dukh kaahe khatam nahi hota hai bey (Why doesn’t this pain end)?”, which received critical acclaim and moved audiences to tears, is brought back to life in Dunki.
An intoxicated Sukhee (who has had too much rum) narrates his life story after a terrible experience in the IELTS speaking test. He goes on to describe how his fiance ditched him to marry a rich NRI as he stood in Punjab’s farms watching her plane fly above his head. While the monoact doesn’t completely outshine the one in Masaan, it comes close to replicating its magic and strikes just the right emotional chord with the viewers.
6. Asylum and persecution back home
On realising that London dreams aren’t as rosy as they seem in the pictures, Hardy decides to go back to India but Manu insists on staying back. As luck would have it, an immigration lawyer, played by Deven Bhojani, suggests Hardy to seek asylum in London by alleging persecution in his country.
In a moving sequence at the immigration court, Hardy takes out the ashes of a late Sukhee, demanding the judge grant him and his friends a visa but refuses to plead for asylum, saying “Judge sahab, mujhe mere desh mein koi khatra nahin hai. Mera desh jaisa hai mera hai (I am not in danger in my country. The country is mine, however good or bad)”. The commentary is ironically meta, considering how Khan has often been attacked in the past for his political stance, religious identity, and even been prosecuted by the agencies. We see Khan own his national identity, unapologetically so.
7. Taapsee Pannu shows her sporting side
When Manu (Taapsee), Buggu and Billi visit the Guarantee Visa office in their hometown, Manu is asked to learn wrestling so she can enter London on a sports visa. She starts looking for a coach and one is instantly reminded of her film Shabaash Mithu (2022) where the actress played Indian women’s national team captain, Mithali Raj. As Manu learns wrestling courtesy Hardy, she becomes adept at knocking out men twice her size — a skill she learns with practice uses it to defend herself through the film. True sportsman spirit, isn’t it?
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