When you hear the name, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, you do remember that he is called captain cool, that he got us our second world cup after 28 years, that he has some amazing innings to his name. but you also associate Dhoni with his decisions that didn’t quite work out. In MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, you get to see the former, but Neeraj Pandey has left out the latter.
The movie like all sport based biopics is a feel good movie, where you know that our hero is going to come out of the mess he is in and be the man we know him to be. This movie is no different. The movie starts with the scene in the dressing room of the 2011 world cup and then goes into flashback, delving in his life and struggle. He is from a middle class background and his father has normal aspirations, like getting him a¬†sarkari naukri. But as we know it to be true, and Dhoni’s mother says in the movie, Mahi won’t stop at this.
We see Sushant living the character of Dhoni on screen. He is absolutely brilliant, in portraying the mannerisms of Dhoni. His face has a sincerity to it, which makes us believe that he truly is feeling whatever he is showing on screen. The shots of him playing are brilliant. They make us wish that there was more of cricket in the movie, and more of his team members. Apart from a few stray shots with Yuvraj Singh, there is no mention of the Dhoni’s relationship with his team members. What looks realistic, is the portrayal of small town Ranchi and Dhoni’s humble home.
The supporting characters, be it Anupam Kher as Paan Singh, or the friends of Dhoni, who support and encourage Dhoni in all ways, are great in the movie. They make the movie more believable and also more likeable. Disha Patani as Priyanka, Dhoni’s ex-girlfriend performs well within the boundaries of her constricted role, and Kiera Adwani can be described as ‘sweet’ at best.
The movie kind of falls apart after the interval. There are two love stories in quick succession and also three love songs, which make us question why it was necessary to bring in the love angle.
If you are a normal Indian who loves cricket or even admires our captain cool, this movie is worth your time, and you won’t come back home wholly disappointed.
