End Of The Road For Rajkumar Hirani?

Director Rajkumar Hirani is a clueless person these days after his latest film Dunki got an underwhelming response at the box office.

The film has grossed 310 crores worldwide in its first week but a lot more was expected from the combo of Hirani and Shah Rukh Khan, especially after 1000-crore blockbusters like Pathaan and Jawan.

This is a setback for Rajkumar Hirani, who is known for making blockbuster films like Munnabhai MBBS, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Sanju, 3 Idiots, and PK.

The content of Dunki isn’t that exciting but even then the film would have done much better if it had been released in the pre-pandemic era. Times have drastically changed in the last 3 years and today Hirani’s brand of cinema has few takers.

In the era of Animals, Salaars, and Jawans, Dunki seems too soft and outdated and not in sync with today’s audience’s tastes. Such content is now watched on OTT and not in theaters. It lacks that theatrical value that is much needed today for bringing in the audience. Still, the film doing a business of 400+ crores worldwide can be considered an achievement.

So where does Hirani go from here? Is it the end of the road for Hirani and his brand of cinema?

There are speculations that his next is going to be a biopic on cricketer Lala Amarnath and will star Aamir Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, or Vicky Kaushal. Don’t know whether Aamir or Ranbir will now risk their career by doing a film in a genre that is not doing well these days. Sports biopics have been failing badly, a recent example being 83.

Rajkumar Hirani has to reinvent himself if he has to compete with the brutal force of Vangas, Kanagarajs, and Neels.