Banner: Fox Star Studios, Inspired Entertainment & Friday FilmWorks
Producer: Arun Pandey & Fox Star Studios
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Starcast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Disha Patani, Kiara Advani, Bhoomika Chawla, Anupam Kher et al.
Music: Amaal Mallik, Rochak Kohli & Sanjoy Chaudhary
Director Neeraj Pandey has proved his worth time & again with his flawless directional skills in scores of movies. And now he his back with his outstanding directorial venture namely M. S. Dhoni: The Untold Story. So much so that after this film he may very well be crowned as the “Badshah Of Biopic” movies. Take a Bow Mr. Neeraj Pandey.
Fox Star Studios’ M. S. Dhoni: The Untold Story is a film mainly about the untold & unknown aspects of Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s life. The film starts off with the iconic match that took place between India & Sri Lanka on 2nd Apr, 2011. This is followed by a series of flashbacks into the life of M. S. Dhoni, who grows up with his passion of playing football. It is during one such match when his sports teacher spots his impeccable talent in goalkeeping. On his insistence, an initially reluctant Dhoni, then starts playing cricket. When Dhoni realises that he is only keeping wickets and not getting an opportunity to bat, he “creates an opportunity” and starts smashing the ball in all directions, thus, impressing one & all. Things, then, start gradually moving forward for Dhoni, who, after playing for a handful of Government organisations, lands up becoming a TC (Ticket Collector) at Kharagpur station and starts playing for the railways. As days pass, his job tires him physically & mentally too, leaving him limited time for cricket practice. When frustration reaches its peak in Dhoni’s mind, he quits his railway job and comes back home, something that extremely annoys his father (Anupam Kher). Amidst all this, when Dhoni gets a call from the selectors to play for India, he does not play well on the ground, despite that being his 1st ever international match. He however gets insipired on meeting Priyanka (Disha Patani) who boosts up his morale and Dhoni regains his form. Just when life starts blooming for Dhoni, both, professionally & personally, an unexpected tragedy buoys him down miserably. Around this time, Dhoni happens to meet Sakshi (Kiara Advani).
Director Neeraj Pandey has done full justice to this Dhoni Biopic. He promised to highlight “the untold story” about Dhoni, whose “private life” has been extremely guarded. The film is all about the trails, the tribulations, the challenges, the failures & the eventual success of Dhoni. And Neeraj does not let the viewers down. He delivers what he has promised. Besides the film remains clear of gossips, scandals & rumors in any form. In fact Neeraj has just presented the true sides of Dhoni’s life. And what a presentation!!! A special worthy mention also goes for the entire technical team. Take a Bow once again Mr. Neeraj Pandey.
Performance wise Sushant Singh Rajput is outstanding & brilliant to the core!!! In fact he is “MS Dhoni personified” in every frame of the film. He has given his all to make sure that his role as Dhoni simply remains “unforgettable” unlike his totally forgettable last outing namely Yashraj Films Detective Byomkesh Bakshi. While Disha Patani makes a picture perfect debut, but Kiara Advani is just about ok. On the other hand Bhumika Chawla enacting the role of Dhoni’s sister springs a pleasant surprise and that too when she has made her comeback to Bollywood after almost a decade. Welcome Back Bhumika!!! Anupam Kher in one word is “Superb”. That apart the entire supporting cast lends an adequate support and makes the film worth watching even more.
Tail Piece: M. S. Dhoni: The Untold Story will hit many more centuries at the Box Office turnstiles. Besides In a nation where Bollywood & cricket are considered as religion, the amalgamation of both will really work wonders at the Box Office turnstiles. All in all M. S. Dhoni: The Untold Story is a not to be missed film at any cost.
