Dunki director Rajkumar Hirani had first seen Shah Rukh Khan delivering a monologue in the popular 1989 TV series Circus while he was still a student and had hoped to cast him in his film when he gets to direct one, the filmmaker, known for delivering hits like 3 Idiots and Munna Bhai MBBS, revealed at an event in Mumbai recently.

“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’,” Hirani said.

“It took me two years to graduate from the film institute and by that time SRK had become a big star,” the filmmaker, who will be collaborating for the first time with SRK for the upcoming film Dunki, added.

Shah Rukh, who was standing right beside Hirani on the stage, confessed how he was unaware of the filmmaker’s name and his works. Recalling the times when he was offered roles in Munna Bhai MBBS (2003) and 3 Idiots (2009), Shah Rukh said, “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).”

The Jawan star talked about missing the chance to work in Hirani’s films several times. “So, I told him I would do it after nine 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. So, when he narrated Dunki, I caught him in the Covid-19 bubble and told him not to go away this time,” the 58-year-old added.

Talking about his upcoming project with Hirani, Shah Rukh said, “Dunki is a film that speaks volumes. It is meant to be more entertaining than Pathaan and Jawan, with a simplicity that captures the heart.”

Joking about how “cool” it sounds to call the short teasers ‘drop’, the actor added, “While the Drop 1 intentionally doesn’t reveal much, we have Drop 2 and Drop 3 coming soon to introduce what I am doing in the film, as well as Taapsee's role.”

“Working with Raju sir (Hirani) has been a wonderful experience. His films are unique in that the story takes the lead, rather than any particular actor…of course, in Dunki, I will bring dance, romance, and song to the screen. It's been years since I've had the opportunity to romance in a film, and the romance in Dunki is truly beautiful,” Shah Rukh signed off.

Dunki also stars Boman Irani, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal, Vikram Kochhar and Anil Grover. It is written by Abhijat Joshi, Rajkumar Hirani and Kanika Dhillon.

Dunki is slated to arrive in the cinemas this December.