Happy with the response, but don’t make films keeping box office in mind: Rajkumar Hirani talks about ‘Dhanki’ | Bollywood

“Dhanki”, directed by Shah Rukh Khan, is about illegal immigrants who travel the dangerous “Donkey Trail” in search of a better life.

This much-talked-about film comes after Shah Rukh’s blockbuster films ‘Pattern’ and ‘Jawan’, both of which are high-octane action thrillers and cross-border. INRBox office revenue was 100 billion yen for each. Dhanki, which also stars Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal and Boman Irani, is a gentler film. INR$300 million – a success, although not as good as the other two films.

“Of course, commercial success is important to me, but I try not to focus on it at all, because the moment I start focusing on that, it starts to color the kind of films I want to make. Because…,” Hirani told PTI over Zoom. interview.

His last film was ‘Sanju’ in 2018.

“It takes me three or four years to make a movie. This time it took me five years to make the story. Whatever the fate of the movie, let me make this movie. Sometimes it gets a universal audience. “Sometimes there is a small audience. India is a huge country so there will be all kinds of audiences who like all kinds of films,” Hirani said.

The 61-year-old is known for his unique brand of films that focus on human stories with a touch of comedy and commerciality. His earlier films include the hugely successful ‘Munnabhai’ films and ‘3 Idiots’, as well as ‘PK’ and ‘Sanju’.

Hirani said she was not scared at all while making ‘Dhanki’.

“This is an Indian story that no one thought of in a Hindi film. I am happy with the response. Sometimes it’s big, sometimes it’s different. This film is a success. “People want this movie, people love it.” “I don’t think you should worry about box office numbers. If you get attention, that’s a big trap. ”

What he fears, he says, is the audience’s expectations.

“I’m getting scared…People expect ‘jo peer banaya tha wohi humko dekhna hai’ (I want to make something similar to what I’ve seen before). In every film, I always try to jump genres. – From ‘Munnabhai’ to ‘3 Idiots’ to ‘PK’ to ‘Sanju’ to now,” he added.

As a storyteller, Hirani said her goal is to discover unique material, which is the most difficult part of her job.

“Movies have been made for 100 years, and now people are exposed to world cinema and watch all kinds of movies. So it’s always difficult to find a subject that hasn’t been covered.”

“Dhanki” refers to a village house in Punjab that has a concrete flat roof.

“At first I saw one plane above the house and thought, ‘Why are they building a plane above the house?’ Then I realized that this is a kind of thing for people who have children overseas. “I realized it was a status symbol and became obsessed with it,” he said.

For Nagpur-based Hirani, home is an emotion and she understands the desire to leave the place in search of better job opportunities.

For him, “Danki” is also a story of returning to his hometown.

“Most of these people eventually leave their homes and come back, but none of them leave their homes with the idea of ​​living there permanently. They say, ‘We can’t go there and make money. “I’m going to come back and retire in my home country,” but most people don’t. So for me home was a great feeling and it was more inspirational,” said the filmmaker.

While researching ‘Dhanki’, Hirani discovered that there are many classes in Punjab where students learn English to fulfill their dream of getting a visa.

It’s an interesting world, the director said, adding that he met many people who followed the donkey trail and even took part in English-speaking classes in disguise.

“During COVID-19, I went to Punjab and took all the English-speaking classes. I went there wearing a mask and was like, ‘I want to try a trial class.’ Did. I went to those villages and many of them are empty because only old people live there and no young people. “I met a lot of people there, families and children, and saw planes flying over the houses,” he added.

Working with Shah Rukh Khan, who was my first choice for his 2003 directorial debut Munna Bhai MBBS and 2009 hit 3 Idiots, has been a lifelong dream of mine.

Even more than him, his mother was happy that he was finally collaborating with the superstar.

“After my last film ‘Sanju’, we started meeting more often. During the period when work was slow due to the coronavirus pandemic, he asked me, ‘What are you working on?’ I did. I said, “He has two or three ideas.” I told him all the ideas and he was fascinated by the idea and decided that if this developed, he would do it.

“So it just happened naturally. All I can say is that I really enjoyed working with him.” As Abhijat (Joshi, writer) says about Shah Rukh , he says, “This man is pure love.” Without thinking, I had a very happy experience, working with him not only as an actor but also as a human being. I was able to.”

According to Hirani, the role of Hadi, who is not fluent in English, was a challenge for Shah Rukh.

“Taapsee (Pannu) is a Sardarni and most of the other actors are Punjabi, and for actors like Bali (Anil Grover), Baghu (Vikram Kochhar) and Vicky (Kaushal) who lived in Punjab, this The role comes as no surprise. Shah Rukh was the only actor (previously) to play a city guy and a city character, but he said, “How can the world believe that I don’t speak English in a movie?” Are you going to let me do it?” he often said.

“For him, it’s the most challenging thing and I’ve seen him walk that extra mile and work hard. My phone says he rehearses every day before filming. There are a lot of videos he sent me of him doing it.He never left.”He killed two birds with one stone,” Hirani said.