Rajkumar Hirani says Shah Rukh Khan knew Dunki won't open at box office like Jawan: 'He was realistic' | Exclusive

Dunki, Rajkumar Hirani’s latest film, was released in theatres just te days back and has been doing commendable business. The Shah Rukh Khan-starrer is steadily heading towards Rs 400 crore worldwide gross, a mark it should cross in the next few days. Amid the film’s success, the filmmaker speaks to DNA in an exclusive chat about the film, its reception, and box office numbers.

Hirani says that the first few days after the release of any film are very ‘numbing’ and it is only after the first week that he feels a clear picture about the reception emerges. “The first few days, you don’t know where it is going because you don’t get real reactions in those days. There is the first-day audience that is something else. Then there are expectations. Now it’s kind of settling down and I see more families coming. I am getting a lot more messages. There is a lot of love for the film. Some are saying it’s different and ‘you made us cry more’ this time,” says the filmmaker.

He says he is happy that Dunki is being seen as a clutter-breaker as the only non-action film this year to have a chance at reaching Rs 400 crore in earnings, “The best comment I am getting is that in a time when all action is happening, you have tried to do a content film. All that makes us happy,” he says.

Shah Rukh appeared in Dunki on the back of Pathaan and Jawan – two massive blockbusters, each of which had him in an action hero avatar. Hirani admits the actor was brave to choose a content film like Dunki immediately after them. When asked if it was a tougher task to direct SRK in a non-hero avatar, Hirani says, “Maybe I am naive so I don’t read trends so I never thought of it,” before adding, “Definitely, for Shah Rukh, it was very brave to pick a film like this where he is completely stripped off his hero image and be a simple person who doesn’t even know English.”

The filmmaker says that Shah Rukh had told him that Dunki won’t do the kind of box office numbers his previous films had and was realistic about it. “Throughout the journey, he kept telling me that don’t expect this to open like Jawan. It will not. He said I have done these films before so we should be realistic. There will be a different audience for this kind of a film, which is exactly how it happened. I find him brave to be able to do this. Then it becomes more of a social media conversation where people say ‘it should have been like this’. But I feel you should be fearless about and believe in the stories you want to tell,” he says. Dunki opened at 29 crore, one of the highest numbers for a non-action film since the pandemic, and has steadily grown via word of mouth.

Hirani also says it is too soon to judge Dunki’s impact. “Also, there is always a burden of expectation. Plus, this had people talking aout Shah Rukh and Raju Hirani coming together so many were wondering kya hi bana diya (what have they made). But I think these things are to be judged in the long run,” says the filmmaker.

Dunki, which also stars Taapsee Pannu, Boman Irani, Anil Grover, and Vikram Kochhar, with Vicky Kaushal in a special appearance, is currently running in theatres across India. As of Monday (January 1), the film has earned Rs 188 crore in India and Rs 370 crore worldwide.