I tried really hard to be objective about this film, but eventually I decided it’s futile. If you make a biopic on the most successful captain of the Indian cricket team, on the man whose technique was so unique, sports journalists had to invent a name for his particular shot, on the man who brought home the World Cup, one cannot be detached. So there, I really liked M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, because I really like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the legend, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect.
Sushant Singh Rajput has given his soul to this role and it shows. He’s mastered the helicopter shot (which has an interesting origin story), his mannerisms and body language are spot on. Before the interval, we see Dhoni’s struggles, some already documented and some not. Anupam Kher does a fine job as his father who just wants his son to get a stable job, Bhumika Chawla is decent as his sister. The supporting cast is good too, though not fleshed out enough. There’s one friend called Santosh, who really likes beer and is a good cricketer, but nothing more is shown of him. He drunk calls Dhoni too, but he’s cut off abruptly and the next time we him, he’s cheering for MSD. The reason for his call is never revealed or even acknowledged. I would have preferred more time to be given to his friendship than the love stories in the film. Disha Patani makes a confident debut as Priyanka, MSD’s ex-girlfriend and Kiara Advani is nice as Sakshi Dhoni, but honestly, these two tracks really slowed the movie down. The director Neeraj Pandey, who is known to not play safe, sadly paid more attention to Dhoni’s love life, instead of the very interesting ‘politics’ in the dressing room or the various and controversial selections that took place during his reign. Thankfully, they have shown a young Yuvraj Singh, played by Herry Tangri, who looks remarkably similar to Yuvraj and has got his swag spot on.
Amaal Malik‘s music is nice and so are Manoj Muntashir‘s lyrics. Kaun Tujhe is easily the best track of the album. Santosh Thundiyil‘s cinematography is sleek, especially Dhoni’s matches and his training montage. Shree Narayan Singh‘s editing is a little abrupt and sometimes the movie seems a little too jumpy. Special props to visual effects team who have made the super fit and buff Sushant look like a young skinny teenage boy and then super imposed his face on the real Dhoni while showing real footage of his matches. Neeraj Pandey has done a good job in fleshing out a character like Dhoni, especially his frustrations as a ticket collector, and his incredible journey to become the Captain Cool of the Indian cricket team. This film hits all the correct spots before every big innings played by the man. His unforgettable 148 against Pakistan, India winning the One-Day series against Australia, the 2007 T-20 World Cup win, all of them have been shown with a lot more drama attached (like we needed anymore).
Unfortunately, the film suffers from the curse of the second half, but it ends with the 2011 World Cup win so you know… it nearly makes up for the things that went wrong, nearly. Sushant deserves an award for his impeccable performance.
WARNING: Seeing the real Dhoni’s smiling face at the end of the movie might make you ugly cry, so let those tears flow.
