Commercial
success
does
matter
but
filmmaker
can't
focus
on
it
and
let
it
colour
their
vision,
says
"Dunki" director
Rajkumar
Hirani,
happy
that
people
have
praised
his
efforts
to
tell
a
human
story
at
a
time
audiences
are
flocking
to
action
movies.
"Dunki",
fronted
by
Shah
Rukh
Khan,
is
based
on
the
illegal
migration
of
people
who
travel
through
the
dangerous
'donkey
route'
in
search
of
a
better
life.
The
much-discussed
film
comes
after
Shah
Rukh's
blockbusters
"Pathaan"
and
"Jawan",
both
high-octane
action
thrillers
that
crossed
over
Rs
1,000
crore
each
at
the
box
office.
"Dunki",
which
also
stars
Taapsee
Pannu,
Vicky
Kaushal
and
Boman
Irani,
is
a
gentler
film
and
has
made
Rs
300
crore
-
a
success
though
not
at
par
with
the
other
two
films.
"Of
course,
commercial
success
matters
to
me
but
I
try
not
focus
on
it
at
all
because
the
moment
you
start
focusing
on
it,
then
you
start
colouring
the
kind
of
film
you
want
to
make...,"
Hirani
told
PTI
in
a
Zoom
interview.
His
last
film
was
"Sanju"
in
2018.
"I
take
three
or
four
years
to
make
a
film.
This
time
I
took
five
years
to
make
a
story.
It
should
be
like...
let
me
make
this
film
whatever
the
fate
of
the
film
is.
Sometimes
you
will
get
a
universal
audience,
sometimes
you
will
get
an
audience
which
is
in
smaller
pockets.
India
is
a
massive
country
and
there
will
be
all
kinds
of
audiences
liking
all
kinds
of
films,"
Hirani
said.
The
61-year-old
is
known
for
his
unique
brand
of
cinema
that
focuses
on
human
stories
with
a
touch
of
comedy
and
commerciality.
His
earlier
films
include
the
super
successful
"Munnabhai"
films
and
"3
Idiots"
as
well
as
"PK"
and
"Sanju".
Hirani
said
he
was
not
scared
at
all
while
making
"Dunki".
"It's
an
Indian
story
which
in
Hindi
cinema
no
one
thought
about.
I'm
happy
with
the
response.
Sometimes
it
will
be
massive,
sometimes
it
will
be
different.
It
is
a
successful
film
and
people
are
going
for
it
and
people
are
liking
it.
I
don't
think
one
should
ever
worry
about
box
office
numbers.
If
the
attention
is
there,
then
it's
a
big
trap."
What
scares
him,
he
said,
is
audience
expectation.
"I
get
scared...
people
expect
that
'jo
pehle
banaya
tha
wohi
humko
dekna
hai'
(We
want
to
something
similar
to
what
we
saw
earlier).
With
every
film,
I'm
always
jumping
genres
and
trying
to
make
something
different
--
from
'Munnabhai' to
'3
Idiots'
to
'PK',
'Sanju'
and
this,"
he
added.
As
a
storyteller,
Hirani
said
his
goal
is
to
scout
for
unique
subjects
and
it's
the
most
difficult
task.
"For
100
years,
cinema
has
been
made
and
now
people
are
exposed
to
world
cinema
and
they
see
all
kinds
of
films,
so
to
find
a
subject
that
has
not
been
dealt
with
is
always
difficult."
"Dunki" references
village
homes
in
Punjab
which
have
concrete
planes
on
their
rooftops.
"I
initially
saw
one
plane
on
top
of
a
house
and
I
was
like,
'why
are
they
making
these
planes
on
top
of
the
house?'
Then
I
discovered
that
this
is
kind
of
a
status
symbol
for
people
whose
children
are
abroad.
Then
I
dived
into
it,"
he
said.
Home
is
an
emotion
for
Nagpur-based
Hirani,
and
he
said
he
could
understand
the
desire
to
move
out
of
a
place
for
better
work
opportunities.
"Dunki"
to
him
is
also
a
story
of
coming
back
home.
"Most
of
these
people
leave
their
homes
eventually
to
come
back,
nobody
leaves
a
home
thinking
that
will
permanently
settle
there.
They
will
be
like,
'We
will
go
there,
make
money
and
come
back
and
retire
in
my
own
country'
but
most
don't.
So,
to
me,
home
is
a
great
emotion
and
that
was
more
inspiring,"
the
filmmaker
said.
During
his
research
for
"Dunki",
Hirani
found
there
are
many
English-speaking
classes
in
Punjab
where
students
learn
the
language
in
order
to
fulfil
their
dream
of
getting
a
visa.
It's
an
interesting
world,
the
director
said,
adding
that
he
met
many
people,
who
followed
the
donkey
route
and
even
attended
English-speaking
classes
in
disguise.
"During
COVID-19,
I
went
to
Punjab
and
sat
in
all
those
English-speaking
classes.
I
would
put
on
a
mask
and
go
there
and
attend
it
and
I
would
be
like,
'I
want
to
do
a
trial
class'.
I
went
to
those
villages
and
many
of
them
have
become
empty
as
there
are
just
older
people
staying
there,
and
no
young
people.
I
met
a
lot
of
people
there,
families,
children
and
saw
those
aircraft
on
top
of
the
houses,"
he
added.
Working
with
Shah
Rukh
Khan,
who
was
his
first
choice
for
his
2003
directorial
debut
"Munna
Bhai
M.B.B.S"
and
2009
hit
"3
Idiots",
has
been
a
long-cherished
dream.
More
than
him,
his
mother
was
happy
he
was
finally
collaborating
with
the
superstar.
"After
my
last
film
'Sanju',
we
started
meeting
more
often.
During
COVID-19
times
when
not
much
work
was
happening,
he
asked
me,
'What
are
you
working
on?'
I
said,
'I've
these
two-three
ideas.'
I
narrated
all
the
ideas
to
him
and
he
got
fascinated
with
this
one
and
he
was
like,
if
this
one
develops
then
let's
do
it.
"So,
it
happened
organically.
All
I
can
say
is
I
had
complete
joy
working
with
him.
As
Abhijat
(Joshi,
writer)
describes
Shah
Rukh,
he
says,
'This
man
is
pure
love'.
I
had
a
very
happy
experience
of
not
only
working
with
him
as
an
actor
but
also
as
a
human
being."
According
to
Hirani,
the
role
of
Hardy,
who
is
not
fluent
in
English,
was
challenging
for
Shah
Rukh.
"This
role
comes
naturally
for
other
actors
like
Taapsee
(Pannu)
is
a
sardarni,
most
of
the
other
actors
are
Punjabi,
they
have
lived
in
Punjab
like
Balli
(Anil
Grover),
Buggu
(Vikram
Kochhar),
Vicky
(Kaushal).
Shah
Rukh
was
the
only
actor
who
is
an
urban
person
and
has
(played)
urban
roles
(before)
and
he
would
say,
'How
would
you
make
the
world
believe
that
I
can't
speak
English
in
the
film?'.
"For
him,
it's
the
most
challenging
thing
and
I've
seen
him
walk
that
extra
mile
and
work
very
hard.
My
phone
is
full
of
videos
that
he
had
sent
me
where
he
is
rehearsing
every
day
before
the
shoot.
He
didn't
leave
one
stone
unturned,"
Hirani
said.