Dunki VFX breakdown video reveals Shah Rukh Khan’s hair was fake in underwater scenes, desert train wasn’t real

From epic desert landscapes to the wrinkle's on a person's feet, Red Chillies VFX unveiled the elaborate visual effects that went into enhancing Shah Rukh Khan and Rajkumar Hirani's Dunki.

Red Chillies VFX has unveiled a breakdown video of Dunki's visual effects.

Red Chillies VFX on Thursday unveiled a visual effects breakdown reel for the film Dunki, starring Shah Rukh Khan and directed by Rajkumar Hirani. The four-minute video reveals the many visible and invisible effects that elevated Dunki into a larger-than-life big-screen experience. Released in December, Dunki opened to mixed reviews but strong box office success.

The breakdown video recaps some of the film’s most memorable scenes, and reveals the visual effects work that went into them. For instance, the elaborate shot at the end, where Taapsee Pannu’s character strolls down her old village while recalling memories of her youth, required intense VFX work to make it appear like one unbroken camera movement. The video also reveals that it took computer-generated fire to enhance the scene in which Vicky Kaushal’s character sets himself ablaze after failing to crack the visa interview.

Also read – Jawan VFX breakdown video reveals Shah Rukh Khan’s computer-generated cigar, how the epic highway chase was created

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After the central characters embark on their epic odyssey towards London, many of the environments that they traverse are computer-generated. The vehicles, in particular, all look like they were created physically, but the scenes involving them were filmed against blue screen backdrops. Shah Rukh, Taapsee and their co-stars weren’t actually riding on the top of a train, or in a boat along the river, or even on a truck. These shots were taken in a studio environment, with Red Chillies VFX filling out the backgrounds.

But the VFX breakdown video also revealed a few surprising details. Did you know that Shah Rukh wasn’t actually underwater — not even in a studio environment — for the scene in which the main characters escape gunfire? And because he wasn’t wet, his hair had to be replaced by CGI to make it look like it is wet. Similarly, nobody actually dipped their feet in water to make them all wrinkly for a close-up shot. The wrinkles were added via visual effects.

Fans were mighty impressed with the VFX work in the film. “The water scene was such perfection, such great work,” one person commented on YouTube. “That’s the best and most realistic CG fire I’ve ever seen in my life,” another fan commented. Despite mixed reviews, Dunki emerged as the third-biggest hit of Shah Rukh’s career, grossing over Rs 470 crore worldwide. The movie is said to have cost Rs 120 crore. 2023 was the biggest year of Shah Rukh’s career, with his other two films, Pathaan and Jawan, each grossing over Rs 1000 crore worldwide.

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