Special Report: Almost all Hindi films based on illegal immigration have underperformed at the box office

By Fenil Seta -

January 4, 2024 - 10:41 AM IST

A lot was expected from Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Dunki, especially after the last two films of the superstar – Pathaan and Jawan – were all-time grossers. The performance of Dunki at the box office is satisfactory but keeping in mind the expectations and also the association of director Rajkumar Hirani, the collections are underwhelming. The film is based on illegal immigration and interestingly, almost all the Bollywood films based on this topic have either flopped or underperformed at the box office. Bollywood Hungama takes a look at these films, in this special feature.

1. Dunki

Special Report: Almost all Hindi films based on illegal immigration have underperformed at the box office

It deals with five youths from a village in Punjab who dream of going to the UK for a better life. When three of them fail to get the visa, they decide to take a ‘donkey flight’ and walk, run, swim and even hide in cars through the Middle East and Europe to reach their destination. The last part of the film shows the characters returning to India illegally.

2. Street Dancer (2020)

An important track in this film deals with illegal immigration and the struggles they face in surviving in the UK capital. Sahej (Varun Dhawan), a citizen of the United Kingdom, even helps in flying youths from Punjab with him so that they can settle in London without valid papers.

3. Namaste England (2018)

The Vipul Shah-directorial shows Arjun Kapoor’s character undertaking a dangerous journey from Punjab to London. Just like Dunki, the journey involves travelling through a ship, being holed up in a container and it also leads to the death of a fellow immigrant.

4. Kaafila (2007)

This is a Sunny Deol starrer, which was released on the same day as Chak De India, and went unnoticed. Sunny plays a Pakistan army officer in the film who helps illegal immigrants infiltrate Europe. Towards the climax, he helps them return to their homeland.

5. Refugee (2000)

Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor Khan’s debut film is about an illegal immigrant family crossing into East India from Bangladesh and then entering Pakistan with the help of a man who calls himself 'Refugee'. The initial scenes of the characters crossing into Pakistan illegally were quite novel at that time. Sadly, despite the hype, the film was declared an average grosser.

6. Love Sonia (2018)

This disturbing flick is about women being sold in the flesh trade. In the second half, Mrunal Thakur’s character is illegally taken to Hong Kong followed by Los Angeles, USA in a ship full of containers. Though it was acclaimed in film festivals and had a huge star cast, its collections were negligible at the box office.

7. Chalo America (1999)

It’s a lesser-known film, which was also Ashish Chowdhry’s launch vehicle. It also starred Mandar Shinde and Deven Bhojani and is about three youths who dream of settling in the USA. When they fail to get a visa, they try to immigrate illegally on a ship. But they get caught.

8. Surkhaab (2015)

Barkha Madan, best known for playing the ghost in Ram Gopal Varma's Bhoot (2003), stars in this film. Her lead character obtains a counterfeit visa to see her brother in Toronto, Canada and this is an important plot point in the movie. The film sank without a trace due to zero hype and awareness.