Dunki review: SRK's film is all heart but fails to make a solid impact
Though 'Dunki' is based on the stories of illegal immigrants trying to adopt any route to get into England in search of a better life, it fails to tackle the subject with the seriousness it deserves
Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki is all heart as it sets out to tell the story of three young Indians who are willing to sell their soul, empty their savings and risk their lives to undertake dangerous journeys, all to make a life in England. And, there's Shah Rukh, who plays a soldier Hardy Singh, who is a cross between a mentor and a lovelorn suitor.
The film is punctuated with vintage Hirani humour along the way that make you laugh out loud. Unfortunately, these are far and few between. If you expected Hirani, who nailed the life of miserable engineering students in 3 Idiots, to make your heart bleed for the pain and suffering illegal immigrants Taapsee Pannu (Manu Randhawa), Buggu (Vikram Kochhar) and Balli (Anil Grover) have to go through in Dunki, you may be disappointed. There's too much going on to empathise with them individually - there are wrestling classes and English classes in a Mind Your Language kind of setting, colourful love songs, and above all superstar Shah Rukh Khan thrown into the melee as well.
Though, to give Shah Rukh his credit, he does not hog the show but it does seem like a drunk sequence has been slid in to give him his time.
Hardy is the one who marshalls Manu and Buggu through the illegal 'dunki' route across borders to allow them to reach their destiny. But, somehow, the steely, controlled Shah Rukh you saw in Chak De leading a women’s hockey team to victory, is not visible here. Here it is a more messy Shah Rukh, who tries hard not to be the star in Dunki but it all seems a bit too late.
It doesn’t matter that Shah Rukh doesn’t really shine in Dunki for the film is not about him. Hirani, along with writers Kanika Dhillon and Abhijat Joshi, wants to tell the stories of young Indians from small towns in Punjab, who will do anything for a better life in England. For the lure of greener pastures abroad. Manu who works in a dhaba wants to buy back her parent’s house, Buggu cannot swallow the fact that his pant-clad mother goes to work as a security guard and Balli hates his job as a barber.
Their surroundings are constantly telling them there is a way out. There are visa agents with fake promises, English tutorials to pass the critical IELTS exam, the beckoning aeroplanes and alluring Big Bens atop rooftops in their town stoking their dreams further. Unlike the 2013 much-appreciated Pakistani film Zinda Baag, which is based on the same issue of illegal immigration, Dunki does not delve deep into the frustrations and the desperate need of its young protagonists to break free from their impoverished lives.
It frankly fails to tackle the subject with the seriousness it deserves.
Neither does it allude much to what they can expect once they reach England. The reality of their dreams are left for much later. But, Hirani excels in portraying the scenes with Manu, Hardy and Buggu along with three others as they embark on the perilous 'dunki' route to reach England. They have to illegally cross multiple borders on foot, by train, in truck containers or by car (squashed inside car trunks, inside bed mattresses and quite innovatively inside a front car seat) via Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey and then to England.
These scenes showing them walking underwater at night, bundled inside a container for 27 days, and crossing treacherous dessert terrain where you can come across gun-toting men waiting to ruthlessly shoot down illegal immigrants, are effective.
Dunki, however, does not dwell long enough on the horrible challenges of this long and dangerous journey. The audience never gets enough time to get into the skin of the travellers and the troubles they have to undergo. Except for a poignant moment when one of the women, before boarding a boat to Pakistan, turns around to take a last look at her homeland and collects a little 'mitti' into a tiny box.
Also, Arijit Singh starts belting out a haunting love song O Mahi, which sort of detracts the viewer from the horrors the 'dunki' travelers are facing.
So, at this point, tempted to ask if this is Hardy Singh and Manu's love story or a film on the travails of illegal Indian immigrants seeking a better future away from their country. But, Dunki's premise is in the right place and timely as the subject of illegal immigrants arriving on boats, stuffed like sardines in containers and losing their lives in these tragic ways has become a troubling issue worldwide. Just last week, 61 migrants on their way to Europe from Libya were presumed dead as the boat carrying them capsized at sea.
In Dunki, Hirani ends the film with real life images of immigrants undertaking the dangerous 'dunki' route to illegally enter Europe and US. He also quotes US Customs and Border Protection (UCBP) data saying that 1 million Indians tried to illegally enter the US last year. In Dunki, Hirani makes it clear where he stands on this festering issue.
Hardy Singh crying piteously in front of a UK judge (Ironically, in a country planning more stringent measures to crack down on illegal immigration) talking about poverty and his dead friend's 'feelings' to give him aslyum does not go down well. (this is not the Indian voters!) The judge remains unmoved and so does the audience. Also, going down the road that the English stole from India and so now, Britain has to take us into their country doesn't make much sense either.
Sometimes, the dream you passionately pursue may not turn out as you hoped. And, you may want to retrace your steps. Dunki briefly taps into that sense of loss and regret quite well, as the immigrants travel back home to soak in the smells and the chaos on the streets in their hometown, which holds so many happy and not-so-happy memories.
Pritam's music in Dunki also keeps the film moving, especially Lut Put Gaya and O Mahi..
Vicky Kaushal shines brightly in his brief role as a lovesick lad. Vikram Kochhar as Buggu is refreshing and clinches the Punjabi boy who only wants to ensure his mother doesn’t wear trousers to work. Anil Grover and Taapsee Pannu are very good, while Boman Irani, who had played 'Virus' Sahasrabuddhe in 3 Idiots and Dr J Asthana in Munnabhai with such a flourish, fails to leave any kind of mark with a poorly written role.
Dunki is a mixed bag in the end and fails to make a solid impact. You leave the theatre wondering how this SRK-Hirani film will fare in the box-office dominated by fast-paced action thrillers?