Three years after Dunki released to an underwhelming box office response, director Rajkumar Hirani has spoken candidly about what he believes kept the film from reaching a wider audience, and why he remains proud of it regardless. Hirani shared his thoughts in a video on Sanjay Arora’s YouTube channel, offering a measured self-assessment of the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer’s limited commercial reach.
A subject that not everyone could relate to
Hirani attributed the film’s restricted appeal to its subject matter, explaining, “Every film will touch different people differently. When you make 3 Idiots, it is about the education system, which touched every household, so it will reach every household. So, when I am making a film like Dunki, it is restricted to the people who are into illegal immigration. I get messages from Canada, America, from people who have actually done it and whose life has been affected. People who are living there are saying, ‘We are living here, but we are suffering,’ and they are like, ‘Why did we leave our country? We should have stayed there.’ So, of course, that section of people is limited.”
He elaborated on the divide between the film’s core subject and the typical cinema-going audience, saying, “Our cinema audiences are middle-class audiences who can easily get visas, but there is also a population whose visa can never get approved. We can travel when we get a US visa, but what about those people who don’t have money, no bank balance? They have no chance of getting a visa, meaning they are condemned to stay where they are born, with no chance to travel. I think some people here could not relate to that.”
No regrets, only perspective
Despite the mixed reception, Hirani said the response did not translate into personal disappointment. He said it is not that nobody “related with the film. I am still very proud of the film. But if you don’t relate to certain things, they impact you less. Every filmmaker’s life has that graph. Some films affect a larger audience, some affect fewer.”
Dunki follows four friends from a small town in Punjab attempting to migrate to London and, after failing through conventional means, resorting to the illegal ‘Donkey route.’ The film was released on 21 December 2023.
Written by Abhijat Joshi, Rajkumar Hirani, and Kanika Dhillon, the film starred Shah Rukh Khan alongside Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal, Boman Irani, Vikram Kochhar, and Anil Grover. It was co-produced by Red Chillies Entertainment, Rajkumar Hirani Films, and Jio Studios.
Also Read: Rajkumar Hirani opens up on 3 Idiots sequel, “The three characters are married, with kids”
More Pages: Dunki Box Office Collection , Dunki Movie Review
BOLLYWOOD NEWS - LIVE UPDATES
Catch us for latest Bollywood News, New Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection, New Movies Release , Bollywood News Hindi, Entertainment News, Bollywood Live News Today & Upcoming Movies 2026 and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.