Dunki teaser: Shah Rukh Khan and Rajkumar Hirani bring comedy and drama to immigrant dreams

On Shah Rukh Khan’s 58th birthday on Thursday, the teaser for his third film of the year after the blockbusters Pathaan and Jawan, Dunki, was unveiled.

The eagerly-awaited Dunki teaser gave the best look yet the at film that marks the first collaboration between Shah Rukh and filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani. Dunki also features Taapsee Pannu in the lead role alongside Shah Rukh. Vicky Kaushal also features in the film.

The teaser begins with a group of men and women dressed in black, crossing a desert while a sharp shooter has a mark on their backs. As he fires a shot, we travel back in time to where it all began: with a bunch of friends from Punjab who hope to work and live in London someday. These include Shah Rukh Khan with his friends Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal and two others. Shah Rukh’s character Hardy vows to help his friends get to London by any means necessary.

More about Dunki

Dunki is backed by Red Chillies Entertainment, Rajkumar Hirani Films and Jio Studios. Dunki will hit theatres in India on December 22. Dunki will clash with Prashant Neel’s Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire at the box office. The film stars Prabhas in the lead.

Shah Rukh on Dunki

Last year, Shah Rukh Khan had spoken about the title of his upcoming film Dunki, and explained how it actually meant donkey. As he attended the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia in December 2022, Shah Rukh spoke about Dunki during an interview with Deadline.

The actor had said, “In English, my film would be called Donkey, it is Donkey. But the way a part of the country pronounces donkey in India, it is ‘dunki’. The Punjabis say it (donkey) like dunki… How much to tell you about the story… It is a film directed by one of the most brilliant filmmakers we have had in our country, Mr Raju Hirani. It is written by a very fantastic writer, Abhijat Joshi. It is a story of people, who want to come back home… when you finally get the calling.”

The actor had further said about Dunki, “It is a comic film. His (Rajkumar Hirani) films are always a mix of comedy and a lot of emotions about the country. So, it is a big journey film, and the film goes through different areas around the world and finally comes back home to India.”