Shah Rukh Khan and Rajkumari Hirani’s first ever collaboration, Dunki, recently hit cinema halls globally.
Though it is a family drama and hence, doesn’t need much of an explanation with regards to its ending, I decided to have a go for viewers who may have questions.
In this blog, you will find a detailed description of the last thirty minutes of the movie. There are also specific answers to questions that may arise from the narrative.
The point of beginning is the moment when Manu, Balli, and Gugu reach Dubai from England to meet Hardy and find a way back home.
Also Read: Dunki Movie Review
Dunki Movie Detailed Ending Explained
Manu, Guggu, and Balli reach Dubai to meet Hardy. The trio tells him that getting an Indian Visa is impossible since they had sought asylum in the country pointing out that their life was in danger in India.
Now, the UK govt is asking why do they wish to return to a place where they are not safe.
They share with him the desire to return back to India.
Meeting them after decades, Hardy inquires about their marital status, starting with Balli.
He replies saying his wife divorced him for his short height.
Guggi, on the other hand, is still single. Mannu, who Hardy had thought was happily married in London, actually never got married.
She stayed single. The wedding invitation Manu had sent to Hardy was fake. She didn’t want Hardy to keep waiting for her.
Hence, she lied to him to ensure he gets hitched to somebody and has a family. They all share a laugh together.
Hardy asks how are they planning to go to India. Would they wait for the visa or take the Dunki route?
Manu answers that it would take months to get the Visa. To this, Hardy instinctively asks her to wait for a few months and return only when they get the visa.
He jokingly questions what is the hurry, is she dying?
This is when smiles turn into tears as Manu reveals she has a Brain Tumor (the reason why she was at the hospital at the beginning of Dunki).
Doctors have given her only a month at max. The news sends Hardy in a state of shock. He wants to cry but doesn’t do it in front of everyone.
Instead, he goes away and sobs alone. Manu stands beside him and asks if her father has replaced the nameplate outside their house.
But Hardy doesn’t spill the beans. He says, not only her father, even he has erected something on the roof of her house.
Manu guesses it must be an airplane, but Hardy shakes his head in denial. He says she has to see it for herself.
Manu wants the same and requests him to take her back. She hasn’t even seen her parents in decades, nor the house she always wanted to build.
Most importantly, Manu doesn’t want to die in a foreign land. An emotional Hardy promises to take her home.
He convincingly says she will celebrate Diwali in her house.
Manu jokingly asks if he will make her travel through the Dunki route at this age (iss Umar mein Dunki marwayega).
However, Hardy vows to take her back to India in an airplane calling it an army man’s promise.
Hardy then dials Gulati (Boman Irani) and inquires if he knows a Dunki agent in Dubai. He gives him the number of Banke.
When Hardy asks if he’s trustworthy, Gulati says ‘nobody is trustworthy even in stories.’
Hardy sends him a list of items that he needs as soon as possible.
He then visits Banke, who says the work will be done and explains to him the plan. At the hotel, Hardy opens the blueprint of their idea in front of the trio.
He tells them they would travel in a Tanker, set to leave from Jeddah to Gujarat. It would be a five-day journey plus a few more days of travel from Gujarat to Laaltu.
The parcel from Gulati arrives. Hardy opens it and distributes phones with Indian SIM cards, local Punjabi newspapers, and clothes with a ‘made in India’ tag.
These things would cover their alibi in case something goes wrong in Kutch, Gujarat, which is a border area.
After this, Manu jokes about his earlier promise of taking them home via airplane.
On the decided day, Hardy asks the trio to hand over their England passports to Banke so that he can burn them.
When Guggu questions the logic behind the move, Hardy answers saying the passports should not be found if they get caught.
While they get into the tanker, Banke sneakily takes photos of them getting inside. The driver helps them put loads of food for the journey.
Guggu asks him about such a large quantity for five days but the driver tells him it would take two weeks to reach London and shuts the doors, leaving the quartet surprised.
Meanwhile, Banke marks the truck with a smiley.
Inside the vehicle, confusion makes ripples across the board since they were told about only a five-day travel that too, to India.
Soon, it turns out that Banke has sabotaged their plan when he calls the Dubai police and informs them about some people traveling to London in a container.
As the truth makes itself visible, the friends are left helpless inside the vessel. Hardy calls Banke but he doesn’t pick up.
They hit the walls of the vehicle, scream, and do all sorts of stuff but to no avail. Eventually, the truck stops at the Jeddah port and the container box is removed from it.
The cops get into action and quickly reach the spot alongside Banke. Thanks to the smiley mark, they are able to locate the container easily.
Omar, the senior detective, tries to intimidate the four friends by warning them that lies and deceit would land them fifty years in jail.
He asks them to tell their name and their country of origin.
While Hardy describes himself as an Indian, the other three call themselves English citizens.
Omar laughs at them and asks if they always travel home (London) through a container.
Guggu tells him they are going to India.
But the detective comes back asking why would they travel to India via England. Balli joins the conversation and responds saying they took the wrong container.
Hardy removes his goggles and calmly tells him to stop lying. Interestingly, he calls him ‘Gulab’ instead of Balli, which surprises him.
He takes the detective to the sideline and explains their situation. Hardy asks for a promise to spare him in return for the truth.
Upon Omar’s nod, he tells him that they are all Indians, referring to Manu as Chameli, Guggu as Pampi, and Balli as Gulab Singh.
When Balli retaliates and clarifies that his name is Balli, the cop asks for his passport.
He tells him Banke has the document but the latter denies the same. Omar asks if Hardy can prove their Indian identities.
This is when Hardy takes Balli’s phone and shows the call logs to Omar. All the numbers have +91 (India) as the country code.
He further tells the cop to call anyone from the list to satisfy himself. Omar randomly dials a number.
Back in Punjab, Gulati is sitting on the roof with a basket full of phones. When one of them rings, he quickly barrages among the devices and answers.
He refers to the caller as “Gulab,” and wishes him a safe journey to England.
Though this comes as a shock to Manu, Balli, and Guggu, Omar is satisfied that he is indeed Gulab and not Balli.
Then Hardy uses the Indian clothes and newspapers to explain the other two are also Indians.
He requests the cop to let him go to England and take the rest into custody. However, Omar repeats that he is no fool.
Hardy snatches his passport from the cop’s hand and runs towards the shore.
He throws his passport into the water; thereby, putting himself at par since he was the only one who had an official identity proof.
Hardy provokes Omar saying had he cooperated, he would have gotten hold of three illegal travelers.
Now, it would take him ages to prove they are Indians. Until then, they would live in Dubai with authority.
His trick works as Omar gets angry and promises to put them on a plane back to India within two weeks.
Manu, Balli, and Guggu then realize it was all Hardy’s plan to legally take them back to their mother nation.
Manu now understands that Hardy kept his promise. Even Banke was a part of his plan and all he did was already known to Hardy.
They wink at each other as the cop takes them to the police station. The Dubai police then ask Indian authorities to verify the trio’s identity.
When their files reach Laaltu, the local cops go to their village and find out that Chameli, Pampi, and Gulab had indeed used the Dunki route 25 years ago to go to England.
Who Are Chameli, Pampi, and Gulab?
They are the three people who took the Dunki route alongside Hardy and the team early on. En route, they were shot dead by the cops, who were then killed by Hardy.
It was Hardy’s idea to use their identities for easy verification. Had he used Manu, Guggu, and Balli’s real identities, the cops would have sent them to England instead since they were now UK citizens.
Coming back to the narrative, once their identities are confirmed by the local police, Indian authorities send an intimation to Dubai that they are ready to take their citizens back.
They are put on the flight to India. The friends celebrate their homecoming with Gulab Jamuns inside the plane.
Hardy fulfills his promise to Manu and she says had he not gotten married, she would have kissed him right away.
They reach Laaltu with memories from the past swarming their minds and hearts. As a gesture of respect, Manu takes off her shoes before stepping out of the car.
She and Hardy wrestle again in the nearby ‘akhaada.’
Here’s how their lives or families have changed after 25 years in Laaltu:
Guggu: His house is better than earlier and they even have a car now. But his mother still wears Jeans which makes him ashamed. It was one of the reasons he wanted to earn abroad so she didn’t have to go around getting eve-teased by people.
Balli: His family now runs a big stitching business named “Punjab Tailors.”
Manu: The nameplate outside her house now reads, “Manu Di Kothi” meaning ‘Manu’s Mansion.’ At the top of her home, Hardy has erected a replica of the Big Ben.
Hardy and Manu go to the terrace and talk about themselves. The former says she made everybody’s life by making good money in England.
She points out everything is in order except for their love story. Manu finds out Hardy has learned English.
He did it to level up with her, knowing she would come back one day. They share a laugh when Manu asks him to speak in English for two minutes.
Hardy goes down on one knee to propose Manu and this is when it is revealed he also never married anybody else.
In fact, Hardy never left Laaltu. A guy who just came to return a tape recorder stayed there for 25 years, leaving his home behind just for his love.
In Hardy’s words, though people say Dunki is the arduous journey where commoners have to go through hunger, bullets, and borders, for him, it was these 25 years that he lived without Manu, the love of his life.
Figuratively, Dunki means living without your loved ones and Hardy asks Manu to end his Dunki by accepting his marriage proposal.
He offers her the ring and she agrees to marry him. Hardy steps back and takes out his phone to play “Big Ben Chime,” setting a lovelier vibe.
However, when he turns behind, Hardy finds Manu dead. She passed away, marking an end to their almost unrequited love story.
The film then shows several heart-wrenching visuals of people trying to cross borders and dying on the way.
Is there a Post-Credit Scene in Dunki?
Yes, Dunki has a post-credit scene, where the narrative takes a six-month leap. Guggu, Hardy, and Balli are walking in the street pondering over which business should they start.
A young guy comes from behind and suggests they settle in England instead for a better future.
The three friends share a laugh when he mentions the Dunki route. Hardy slams him onto the ground and the movie ends.
Now, some questions…
What Happens to Taapsee Pannu in Dunki Ending?
Taapsee’s character, Manu, dies in the end due to a brain tumor. This happens after Hardy proposes to her with a ring and she agrees to marry him.
Who Dies in Dunki?
Five people died in Dunki, including Sukhee (Vicky Kaushal), Manu, and the three who traveled with Hardy and the team on the Dunki route.
Who Was Sukhi’s Wife in Dunki?
The film never reveals the face of the woman who was supposed to be Sukhi’s wife.
They never got married because her father hitched her to an NRI because he had the money and came as a better alternative than Sukhi.
However, after marriage, she was physically assaulted in England by her husband. This is the reason why Sukhi wanted to go to London. But it wasn’t meant to be.
Is Dunki Based on a True Story?
Dunki is not specifically based on a true story. It is a collective display of the real-life Dunki route that poor people take to travel abroad illegally.
Punjab’s infamous Dunki route has its genesis in history.
Several people from the region fought in the Second World War and settled there. Back then, it was easier to travel from and to Punjab.
So, it was not an issue, and going to the UK became the norm.
This changed some years later with several rules and regulations. However, better prospects and family relations remained an allure.
Gradually, going abroad was seen as a good thing.
Did Manu Get Married in Dunki?
No, Manu never got married in the movie. She only sent a fake marriage invitation card to Hardy so that he doesn’t wait for her.
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