Commercial success does matter but filmmaker can바카라t focus on it and let it colour their vision, says 'Dunki'Â 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 바카라donkey route바카라 in search of a better life.
The much-discussed film comes after Shah Rukh바카라s blockbusters 'Pathaan'Â and 'Jawan', both high-octane action thrillers that crossed over Rs 1,000 crore each at the box office. 바카라Dunki바카라, which also stars Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal and Boman Irani, is a gentler film and has made Rs 300 crore 바카라 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...,바카라 Hirani told PTI in a Zoom interview.
His last film was 'Sanju'Â 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 바카라3 Idiots바카라 as well as 'PK'Â 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. I바카라m 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 don바카라t think one should ever worry about box office numbers. If the attention is there, then it바카라s 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, I바카라m always jumping genres and trying to make something different -- from 바카라Munnabhai바카라 to 바카라3 Idiots바카라 to 바카라PK바카라, 바카라Sanju바카라Â and this," he added.
As a storyteller, Hirani said his goal is to scout for unique subjects and it바카라s 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.바카라
바카라Dunki바카라 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, 바카라why 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,바카라 he said.Â
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'Â to him is also a story of coming back home.
바카라Most of these people leave their homes eventually to come back, nobody leaves a home thinking that will permanently settle there. They will be like, 바카라We will go there, make money and come back and retire in my own country바카라 but most don't. So, to me, home is a great emotion and that was more inspiring,바카라 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.
바카라During 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, 바카라I want to do a trial class바카라. 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,바카라 he added.
Working with Shah Rukh Khan, who was his first choice for his 2003 directorial debut 바카라Munna Bhai M.B.B.S바카라 and 2009 hit 바카라3 Idiots바카라, has been a long-cherished dream.
More than him, his mother was happy he was finally collaborating with the superstar.
바카라After my last film 바카라Sanju바카라, we started meeting more often. During COVID-19 times when not much work was happening, he asked me, 바카라What are you working on?바카라 I said, 바카라I바카라ve these two-three ideas.바카라 I narrated all the ideas to him and he got fascinated with this one and he was like, if this one develops then let바카라s 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, 바카라This man is pure love바카라. I had a very happy experience of not only working with him as an actor but also as a human being.바카라
According to Hirani, the role of Hardy, who is not fluent in English, was challenging for Shah Rukh.
바카라This 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, 바카라How would you make the world believe that I can바카라t speak English in the film?바카라.
"For him, it's the most challenging thing and I바카라ve 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 didn바카라t leave one stone unturned,바카라 Hirani said.
