Buoyed by a flawless performance opposite Shah Rukh Khan, Taapsee Pannu is in the lead

Its main strength DonkeyDirected and edited by Rajkumar Hirani, Springboard suggests that it doesn’t just rely on Shah Rukh Khan’s formidable star power. There is no denying that without the singular charisma of the lead actor it would not have been such a film. But its charm stems equally from the slam-dunk solid screenplay.

DonkeyHirani, written by Abhijat Joshi and Kanika Dhillon, tackles the dangers of illegal immigration with infectious glee, piercing drama and a clear-eyed awareness of the moral and legal questions surrounding the laws of entering a foreign country without a visa.

The story revolves around all the confusion that hangs the prodigals between their aspirations and the reality of the path they have chosen. It is simultaneously informed with almost perfect structural circularity as it examines the fears and delusions of those who flee their land and seek a new life surrounded by strangers in a distant land.

Its first half Donkey – The film opens with an old woman slipping into a London hospital and landing at an immigration advocate’s office for help – consistently lively and often hilarious. The second segment of the 16o-minute film anchors itself in a more serious tone.

A dangerous voyage without a map across a river, a desert, a snow-capped mountain and a wilderness that stretches to the horizon brings death and disaster in its wake. All this happens after the hero and his companions try every trick in the book to hack their way through the IELTS system.

Donkey With the lead actor and Taapsee Pannu, playing a woman who is more than just the hero’s romantic interest, leading the way through ups and downs – more on that later – triggered by the characters’ repeated leaps of faith across unknown terrain and equally foreign lands. to jump

At the core of the plot is a love story that surprises many. But you don’t have to work extra hard to do that. It strikes a neat balance between heart, head and soul, creating an emotional story with its fair share of twists that doesn’t strain believability beyond reasonable limits.

DonkeyCo-produced by Red Chillies Entertainment, it creates distinct (if not equal in terms of screen time) space for four important characters – an ex-serviceman Hardyal “Hardy” Dhillon (SRK), Manu Radhawa (Taapsee Pannu), Bugu Lakhanpal (Vikram Kochhar). ) and Balli Kakkar (Anil Grover).

Each of them has a story, and each story counts for more than the footage given to it because they all contribute substantially to the tapestry of experiences and emotions that make up the storyline.

Bagu’s mother works as a security guard in a factory to put out house fires. Bali’s mother does odd sewing jobs to feed the family. And due to unpaid debts, Manu has taken away his house.

The film takes place between the present day and the mid-1990s and revolves around a trio of young and restless residents of Laltu, Punjab. Manu, Buggu and Valli dream of going to London anyway. They are determined to get out of the poverty they are stuck in.

One of the three has to literally break the bank to finance his ambitions, the other has to learn the basics of wrestling to apply for a visa at the Sports Department and all of them have to enroll in a spoken English academy run by Geetu Gulati (Boman Irani), who claims that in England The way to go will be “piece of cake”.

Their efforts backfired quite badly. A couple lives lost, money wasted and moves learned in a wrestling pit fail when it really matters

Fortunately for the three drifters, an exceptionally enterprising Hardy Dhillon from Pathankot lands in their midst with a specific personal objective and then becomes their go-to-man for everything except English-speaking skills.

Immersing them in wild schemes exposes them to a world where trigger-happy border guards have no qualms about spending their lives in the line of duty.

While discussing the trials and tribulations of undocumented immigrants and addressing how departure, destination, and displacement play out in the lives of illegals, the film takes an entertaining yet thought-provoking look at what a “dunkie” (a colloquial term for an illegal border) is doing. crossing) to Europe in search of a better life.

If parts of the film reveal familiar truths and come close to striking fictional notes, Donkey There are also passages marked by admirable insight with just the right mix of emotion and intelligence. These features prevent even the somewhat pat patterns of the story from detracting from the overall impact of the journey that Hardy, Manu, Bugu and Bali embark on at grave risk to their lives.

One that can rebuke Donkey At times it not only illuminates the desire of some to flee their villages and country, which from afar looks like greener pastures but also romanticises the plight of those desperate to bypass the visa system and sneak into the UK. A particular revolt against what the British had done in the Indian subcontinent for a century. Mercifully, the characters – and the film – come full circle and leave no false hope.

This is Rajkumar Hirani’s out and out film. It delights in seeing the funny side of human predicament grappling with a world where the rule book is more important than people’s feelings and needs, where the fences built by nations put the poor who have little access to education and resources at an insurmountable disadvantage. Which leads to desperate and often fatal measures.

Shahrukh Khan assumed the personality Donkey It’s a far cry from the men he played in two releases earlier in the year. He dresses as a benevolent trouble-shooter who risks death and exile for the truth.

As a young man left high and dry by the vicissitudes of fate and an older villager who has been there and done that but hasn’t lost his zest for life, he delivers a performance with charm and verve. Taapsee Pannu is pitch-perfect. He matches SRK’s flair moves to move with impressive élan. That’s no mean feat.

In a memorable special appearance, Vicky Kaushal – playing a man who has a pressing reason for seeking a visa to travel to the UK – makes a strong impression.

Vikram Kochhar and Anil Grover make their most in a film that (unlike the average star-studded Bollywood vehicle) doesn’t relegate them to the background.

Donkey Doesn’t exactly break the boundaries but the path it takes leads to the right path.