Shah Rukh Khan’s film “Dunki,” directed by Rajkumar Hirani, initially premiered in theaters on December 21, 2023, and proved to be a box office success, grossing ₹454 crore worldwide, as reported by Sacnilk.com. While it was slated for a digital debut on JioCinema, the film unexpectedly made its streaming debut on another OTT platform. Netflix India created a buzz by sharing a poster of the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer on Instagram, announcing “Dunki’s” OTT release on their platform. The caption teased, “Pack your bags! After a Dunki around the world, @iamsrk is coming home… Dunki, now streaming on Netflix!” “Dunki” made its OTT debut on Netflix on Valentine’s Day 2024.
The narrative of “Dunki” delves into the poignant theme of immigration, drawing its title from the term ‘donkey journey’, symbolizing the arduous and often perilous paths individuals traverse to reach their desired immigration destinations. The film features an ensemble cast including Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal, Boman Irani, Anil Grover, and Vikram Kochhar. “Dunki” marked Shah Rukh’s final release of 2023, following the success of “Pathaan” and “Jawan.”
In a recent interview with ANI, Rajkumar Hirani shared his experience of collaborating with Shah Rukh Khan, expressing, “You always want to make a movie with a meaningful and good story. Shah Rukh liked the story from the beginning. After doing action movies, as an actor, he also wanted to do something different and this is the reason he was very involved and happy about it. I also wanted to work with him for so long and, mere liye vo baat puri ho gayi I have fulfilled my wish) and finally, we worked together and bahut maza aaya (we had fun).”
“Dunki” received a mixed reception from both audiences and critics and faced stiff competition from Prabhas’ blockbuster “Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire.” The Hindi version of “Salaar” is set to release on Disney+ Hotstar on February 16. Originally filmed in Telugu, the movie was also released in Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, and Tamil in theaters. While the other language versions debuted on Netflix last month, the Hindi version is now ready for its OTT premiere.
