SRK pleaded with an old friend to buy title rights for Dunki, he thought it was a prank: 'Mote Shah Rukh bol raha hoon'

Shah Rukh Khan personally called actor-director Akashdeep Sabir who was working on a similar concept as the Rajkumar Hirani's 2023 film Dunki.

Actor Shah Rukh Khan brought the sensitive topic of illegal immigration to the big screen with his 2023 release, Dunki. But do you know how the Bollywood superstar managed to get the quirky title for Rajkumar Hirani-directed comedy-drama? Actor-filmmaker Akashdeep Sabir spilled the beans on how Shah Rukh secured the title from him in a recent podcast.

Shah Rukh Khan in a still from Dunki.

Akashdeep owned the coveted title Dunki

In a chat with Lehren Retro, Akashdeep disclosed that during the pandemic, he discovered how illegal immigrants would often travel through harsh terrains to enter America. He hired a writer to pen four seasons for a series which was set to be produced by Netflix. He had also secured titles like included The Donkey Route, The Road to Death and Dunki. Meanwhile, around the same time, Raj Kumar Hirani was also working on the same concept with Shah Rukh and they both decided to title their film Dunki.

Recalling the incident, Akashdeep said, "Rajkumar Hirani thought on the same lines. Then, Shah Rukh said, ‘What is the film’s title?’ Then he said, ‘Dunki’. Shah Rukh asked Rajkumar to apply for a copyright, assuming nobody would have claimed this title. Then Rajkumar said, ‘No, Akash has it’. As soon as Shah Rukh heard my name, he said, ‘Don’t worry about him, I’ll speak with him.'”

‘I thought it was a prank call’

Akashdeep revealed that he had known the superstar during his early days in Mumbai but lost touch on the way. So one day, when he got a call from Shah Rukh, he simply couldn't believe it. “I was in my editing room, working on something. I received a call from an unknown number. The person on the other side said, ‘Mote, Shah Rukh bol rahu hu’. I thought someone is playing a prank on me. He called me for the second time. He was polite as always, he told me, ‘Hey, I think I called you at a wrong time. This is my number, please save it. I am not on WhatsApp, but on SMS. Whenever you are free, let me know, I will give you a call.’ As soon as I heard that, I was like, ‘Hey no, I am so sorry, I thought someone is playing prank with me.’"

Shah Rukh called me for dinner, requested for the title

Akashdeep added that the very next day, Shah Rukh invited him for dinner, and by the time they met again, he brought up the topic of the title of Dunki and whether he could use it for the film. Akashdeep said that he agreed that moment itself. Akashdeep mentioned that Shah Rukh Khan also set up a meeting with him and Rajkumar Hirani, and others associated with the film to make sure there were no similarities or conflict.

Dunki, also starring Taapsee Pannu and Vicky Kaushal, was released in December 2023. Shah Rukh will be seen next in King.