‘M. S. Dhoni: The Untold Story’ movie review: A truthful and moving story you’re going to like

Directed By: Neeraj Pandey
Produced By: Arun Pandey, Fox Star Studios
Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Anupam Kher, Bhumika Chawla, Kiara Advani, Disha Patani
Duration: 3 hours 10 minutes
Bollywood Bubble Rating: 3/5

2011 Cricket World Cup. After 28 years, team India proudly picked the trophy once more. With this, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the then captain, was credited a new height of heroism. One could recall how this man was once a young chap from Jharkhand with long hair and amused everyone with scintillating performance, including Sourav Ganguly, who captained the team back then.

And now, ‘M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story’ by Neeraj Pandey can easily be called a thorough narration of Dhoni’s eventful professional and personal spheres.

Sushant Singh Rajput, who plays the title role, is born in a middle class family in Ranchi and has an elder sister (Bhoomika Chawla). Like the majority, his father, a pump man at the local stadium aspires that his son becomes a regular employed man one day and takes care of the family. Dhoni, however, is more interested in playing football. His sports teacher (Rajesh Sharma) convinces him to try his hands in wicket keeping. With time, he turns out to be a batsman with immense potential. And the rest is history! The story narrates important chapters of Dhoni’s life, including his first job as a ticket collector in Kharagpur, death of his first girlfriend Priyanka and his meeting with his ladylove and now wife Sakshi, along with all the cricket tournaments that played turning points in his career.

The ardent followers of cricket would know, Dhoni was often referred to as the ‘Captain Cool’. He would never throw a stamp or mutter one or two slangs. Sushant Singh Rajput seems to have studied his character in and out, for throughout the film he remains the calm, controlled person who seldom breaks out in sadness or goes overwhelmed in happiness. Once you watch him playing Dhoni, you don’t want to imagine anyone else in the same shoes.

Dhoni’s career is not one without controversies. He was, and still is, blamed for the exit of Sourav Ganguly from Indian team and said to share strong dislike for many of the senior players including Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman. However, the makers did not opt for the cowardly act of chopping those portions off. Cricketer MS Dhoni’s visions and actions have been injected in Sushant’s character and they remain in the film. Therefore, it might not be a pleasing watch for everyone, but it is an honest watch.

Coming to performances, Disha Patani makes a small but sweet debut. She is balanced, and makes her presence felt. Bhoomika Chawla, who is back to Bollywood after a long pause, is fair. Two men who deserve special mentions are Rajesh Sharma and Anupam Kher. The earlier as a proud teacher and the latter as a proud father have won our hearts! Kiara Advani comes in the second half and makes it a happy ending. We liked the screenplay; it is systematic, maintains a timeline and is not scattered. Sanjoy Chowdhury’s background scores are decent but could be a bit more subtle. Amaal Mallik does a fair job with songs.

‘M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story’ is a true biopic because it reflects an individual’s journey with his achievements, flaws, celebrations and breakdowns. At the end, it is about someone who you might like or dislike, but can’t simply ignore. As that historical moment of 2011 Cricket World Cup flashes up on the screen, we all are in a little bit of tears. As the theatre roars, there are a few more drops.

Dhoni fans, give it a watch today. Non-fans, watch because it is a story of glory.

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