Dunki's Dull Dive: Dunki Falls Short of Hirani's Standards

There's something called law of averages.

After watching Dunki, you cannot help but realize that it has finally caught up with director Rajkumar Hirani.

Dunki is his weakest film so far. It's also his only boring movie where his trademark humour is evidently missing, the emotions appear fake and forced and even the songs (except the climactic Sonu Nigam number) appear a tad underwhelming.

Truly nothing is great about Dunki inspite it being Hirani's famed collaboration with in-form superstar Shah Rukh Khan (SRK). Heck, it looks an ordinary fare even from the technical point of view. So what went wrong might be your obvious question. How could a calibre filmmaker with an unblemished track record from Munnabhai (2003) to Sanju (2018) make a just about average movie!!!

First and foremost, the plot is as old as those hills in Afghanistan. The issue of illegal immigrants or 'Kabootarbaazi' as it is notoriously known, was rampant in India (particularly Punjab) in the '80s and '90s. The legendary Dev Anand, always ahead of his time, made Des Pardes dealing with this subject way back in 1978. Till date, countless Punjabi movies have got made on the issue of donkey flights taken by these illegal immigrants. So at a story level, Dunki has nothing new to offer.

Secondly, Hirani's brand of humour invariably appreciated in his every film right till Sanju (2018), goes missing this time. There is hardly a dialogue here which will make you genuinely lol. Most of the film's first half is devoted to an English speaking class which will remind you of the popular British sitcom Mind Your Language (1977) and its successful Hindi adaptation Zabaan Sambhal Ke (1993). No novelty factor at all!!

Post interval, Dunki slips and dips further as the entire attempt of illegal migration to England lacks the thrill you would expect. Apparently, there's only one check post somewhere between Afghanistan and Turkey where SRK and his pals get caught. Sorry but not convinced, Sir!!

While Hirani falters in his script, he manages to extract fine performances from the cast. The top billed Taapsee Pannu is bearable after quite a long time. Vicky Kaushal is highly impressive in a special appearance. Boman Irani makes his presence felt even in a short role. Anil Grover and Vikram Kocchar lend good support.

Coming to SRK, he has solid screen presence and literally shoulders the film on his own. Having said that, I loved him in Pathaan and Jawan earlier this year but his Dunki act didn't exactly meet my expectations. Just like the rest of the movie!!

Ratings on some key aspects* :
1. Acting : 3.5/5
2. Direction : 2/5
3. Music : 2/5
4. Story, Screenplay and Dialogue : 1.5/5
5. Cinematography : 3/5
6. Editing : 2/5
7. Costume Design : 2.5/5
8. Special Effects and VFX : NA
9. Action : 2/5
10. Production Quality : 3/5

#SNRating for #Dunki : 2 stars out of 5.

- Sumeet Nadkarni

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* - The overall film rating is not a simple average of all ratings on key aspects but a weighted average of the ratings where some crucial aspects (like direction, acting, story and screenplay etc) are assigned more weightage than others.

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#SNRatings barometer:
1 star = Poor
1 & 1/2 star = Below average/ Avoidable
2 stars = Average
2 & 1/2 stars = Above average/ Risk it
3 stars = Good enough/ Endurable
3 & 1/2 stars = Definitely worth a watch
4 stars = Very good
5 stars = Masterpiece/ Outstanding.

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