Shah Rukh Khan and Rajkumar Hirani at the event
Shah Rukh Khan, who unveiled the teaser of his upcoming filmDunki on his 58th birthday, shared his experience of working with Rajkumar Hirani, how he delayed when he received offers of Munna Bhai MBBS and 3 Idiots and a lot more at an event on Thursday. The actor was joined by Rajkumar Hirani and writer Abhijat Joshi on stage. Shah Rukh Khan recalled the time when he didn't realize how big Rajkumar Hirani was as a director and he dilly-dallied with the projects. Shah Rukh Khan said at the event, "When Raju was narrating Munna Bhai to me, I thought, 'naya director hai kar hi lega agar main bolunga 6-8 mahine baad karenge (He is a new director, he will agree if I will tell him that I will do it after 6-8 months). So, I told him I would do it after 9 months. But he went away. Then when he came for 3 Idiots, I again thought, how big he would have become. Then again he went away. That is when I decided ki ab chance nahi lena (won't take a chance this time). So, when he narrated Dunki, I caught him in the Covid-19 bubble and told him not to go away this time!"
Shah Rukh Khan added, "We became so big for each other that it took us some time to come together. So, during COVID-19 pandemic, I caught him in the bubble and said, Please don't go away this time, make this film (Dunki) with me." Shah Rukh Khan said with a tinge of humour, "I didn't even let Raju meet other heroes. I'm still not allowing him, you never know he might add someone in a guest appearance!"
Rajkumar Hirani said that he first noticed Shah Rukh Khan in the daily soap Circus and decided to cast him in his film one day. He said, "I used to study at a film institute and I used to wonder, I am graduating from here, but who would work with me?' I used to look at big stars like Bachchan sahab and think, why would a star like him work with me? So, one day, in my hostel's TV room, I was watching Circus. In a particular scene, a young actor was performing at a platform. It was a big monologue. I thought, who is this guy? This is so wonderful. He is not a big actor. I can take him in my film after I graduate." He said, "However, I couldn't work with Shah Rukh after I graduated from the film institute. It took me two years to graduate from the film institute and by that time SRK had become a big star!"
Shah Rukh Khan also promised to fans that Dunki is going to be far more exciting than Jawan and Pathaan. He said, "It is meant to be more entertaining than Pathaan and Jawan, with a simplicity that captures the heart."
In the teaser of Dunki, we can see Shah Rukh Khan can go to any extent for his four friends who aspire to go to London. Shah Rukh Khan plays the role of Hardy, who will do anything for Manu (Taapsee Pannu), Sukhi (Vicky Kaushal) and his two other friends, who mean the world to him. "My only family is these 4 stubborn fools who want to go to London," says Hardy. Take a look at the teaser here:
Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, and produced by SRK and Gauri Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment, Dunki is slated to release on Christmas this year. It is SRK's first project with Rajkumar Hirani.