Taapsee Pannu says that working in the Shah Rukh Khan-led movie Dunki is a personal achievement for an ardent fan like her.

Filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani is directing the movie from a script he co-wrote with Abhijaat Joshi and Kanika Dhillon.

As per media reports, Dunki will highlight the rampant use of an illegal backdoor route called ‘Donkey Flight’ by Indians to immigrate to countries like Canada and the US.

Taapsee, whose next theatrical release will be Shabaash Mithu, said Shah Rukh’s films were her introduction to Bollywood.

“For me, introduction to films happened in college. I haven’t seen many films in the theatres in school (days) because we would hardly watch films in my house... So, a lot of Shah Rukh Khan films became the first few films that I had seen,” the 34-year-old actress said.

For Taapsee, working on Dunki with two of her favourites – Shah Rukh and Hirani – is a dream come true.

“When you end up getting the opportunity to work with him, it becomes a golden opportunity. And combined with the fact that it is going to be directed by Rajkumar Hirani, whose films are classics, it doesn’t get better. I don’t know how I will even ever do it,” she added.

The Delhi-born actress said she feels deeply connected with the journey and rise of Shah Rukh, who also hails from the national capital.

“He comes from Delhi, same place like me, started from scratch. I don’t miss the opportunity to tell him every time that he is someone who we consider very personal. Even before I met him, his journey felt too personal because of how he started and built an empire for himself,” she said.

Taapsee has earlier played a role in Shah Rukh’s 2019 production Badla, also starring Amitabh Bachchan and Amrita Singh.

The actress said she had limited interactions with the 56-year-old superstar during Badla. “From there to doing a film with him as a co-star, is really big,” she added.

Dunki went on floors in April following an official announcement by Shah Rukh on social media. Taapsee said the team has finished the first schedule of the movie.

Backed by JIO Studios, Red Chillies Entertainment and Rajkumar Hirani Films, Dunki is set to be released in theatres on December 22, 2023.