Movie Review

Rating :

Verdict : Good Watch

 Neeraj Pandey's 'MS Dhoni: the Untold Story' opens with MS Dhoni in the dressing room during the India-Sri Lanka 2011 WC finals. Sushant Singh Rajput, who plays the lead in the eponymous film, is glued to the television set before he decides to take the pitch against Murali instead of Yuvraj Singh. With that one stroke, Rajput, through his posture and mannerisms later in the film, makes a mark as the on-screen Indian skipper.

In a three-hour effort of making the real meet the reel ..

A teenage Dhoni might be a local cricketing hero, but that doesn’t mean much for his father, who wants the security of a government job for him. This forces the boy to play for small stipend money, but his friends are his strength. They show faith in Mahi, even more than his family does.

However, love doesn’t replace necessities, and the ticket collector’s job brings him to Kharagpur. Not getting enough chances, he looks impatient, but it’s just another perfectly-pitched out-swinger he needs to leave.

There excels Sushant, who is every ounce Dhoni in this ‘box-office oriented’ biopic. His body language, walk, helicopter shot, everything matches the India captain. And where even that can’t do the trick, real footage has been used.

The first half of this nearly 180-minute film goes into the riveting details of a middle-class boy’s life in the hilly town of Ranchi. People are concerned about each other, and there is a genuine love for talented kids. Nobody is a villain here, not even the cricket officials. Optimism and hard work are expected to take people to new destinations.

The film slowly becomes a typical Bollywood product. It still entertains, though. Just don’t expect any take on controversies. The film tries to establish Dhoni above all the petty issues.

A tribute to MSD’s success, this works due to the extensive research. They have touched Dhoni’s tender sides as well and the treatment is likely to suit the protagonist. In short, he may become a cleaner and bigger hero after the film.

Anupam Kher as Dhoni's reserved and conservative father does a commendable job, bringing the aspiration-vs-angst conflict to the fore. The veteran Kher, who wants his son to follow in his own footsteps by bagging a stable, decent Government job through the sports quota, symbolises a typical middle-class trait.

Our heroes are generally virtuous, but a biopic also needs objectivity. The director has silver-wrapped the facts that are mostly known.

For Dhoni fans, 'MS Dhoni-The Untold Story,' is a must-watch! For Neeraj Pandey's followers, this is watchable but not his best!