'Middle-class people get visas easily': Rajkumar Hirani on why Shah Rukh Khan’s Dunki didn’t connect with audiences

The expectations were sky-high, when Rajkumar Hirani announced his film Dunki with Shah Rukh Khan. However, despite the pairing and the excitement, surrounding SRK's third film that year, the film landed as a more muted performer compared to Hirani’s past hits and SRK’s 2023 run with Pathaan and Jawan.

Now, Hirani has opened up about how the film was received and why he believes it didn’t strike the same chord with everyone.

Speaking to Sanjay Arora on his YouTube channel, the filmmaker said audience connection often depends on how closely a story aligns with their lived experience. “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.”

Hirani also pointed to the gap between the film’s subject and the core cinema-going audience. “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.”

Despite the mixed reception, he maintained there was no disappointment in his own assessment of the film. “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.”

Hirani also traced the origin of Dunki to real-life observations about migration coaching centres in Punjab, where young people prepared for overseas visas. What began as curiosity eventually became research-driven storytelling.

“It was both sad and humorous,” he recalled. While exploring these institutes, he even attended sessions in disguise during the pandemic. “I went to a school wearing a mask, this was during Covid. I said I need admission, so they gave me a full presentation, and I attended a trial class. It was a small room full of 10–12 students, men and women, all above 30, and well what should I say about the teacher? It was both sad and humorous. The ones teaching English didn’t know English, and those learning weren’t really interested as well, they just wanted a student visa and to move abroad.”

About Dunki

Dunki (2023), directed by Rajkumar Hirani, follows a group of friends from a small village in Punjab who dream of settling abroad in the UK. Unable to secure legal visas, they take the dangerous “donkey flight” (illegal immigration route) to reach their destination.

The story centers on Hardy (Shah Rukh Khan) and his friends who attempt this risky journey, facing exploitation, life-threatening situations, and emotional upheaval along the way. The narrative also shifts between past and present, showing Hardy’s transformation and the toll the journey takes on the group.

The cast includes Shah Rukh Khan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal, and others in key roles.