M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story

After 3 films with Akshya Kumar as lead, Neeraj Pandey switched over to Sushant Singh Rajput and made this movie based on the life of Indian Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

First of all, to make a biopic is not an easy job. As what the maker finds interesting, the person on which the biopic is happening may not! He wants something to show, but the maker is not convince with that. These are some basic differences. And after all this, a movie should be a true entertainer. So, the toughest part for the maker is to decide what to show & how to show. Because the maker has to give pure justice to the person's life without hurting his fans and followers.

Neeraj starts the film with the 2011 world cup final. And when Dhoni enters in the ground, Neeraj switches of to the flashback. From this point, the film picks up the speed. From the birth of Dhoni, to his schooling, to his relationship with his sister, to his caring mother & strict father, to his friendships, to his matches, to his practice, to his breakdown where he gets to know that he can't play Dulip Trophy, to his disregarding by selectors, to his job as a TC, to his hard work, to his self realization and getting into the train. Every single scene is running like a fast paced balling delivery. The 50% of the film is complete and than you realize that one hour and thirty minutes are over.

In post interval, love story starts with Ind-Pak series. Some beautiful tracks and little lighter moments are there in love segments. But as compare to the first half, this is not that much in speed. But you don't feel like boring. And than Sakshi's entry, Dhoni's marriage, and back to the first scene and completes the circle with winning six in the final of 2011 world cup.

Lyrics by Manoj Muntshir and Music by Amaal Malik are fantastic. Besabriyaan is my favorite along with the soulful track Kaun Tujhe. The entire album suits to the film. We have noticed in Neeraj's movie, that one background tune which has been constantly played throughout the film. In this movie too, one outstanding tune is there.

Anupam Kher, Kumud Mishra, Rajesh & Bhumika are the backbone supporter of this film. Disha Patani looks pretty. Kaira Advani is suitable as Sakshi. Overall a good team in supporter.

But the man, Sushant Singh Rajput is a true actor. After delivering a classic performance in last year's Detective Byomkesh Bakshy, he shines out this time too. As a lead, his dedication towards becoming Dhoni is fantastic. From gaining the weight as Dhoni to setting a hairstyle like him, he just delivered his best. His 150 days of cricket training clearly speaks out loud when he strikes the ball with a helicopter shot. He is a real actor of today's generation.

Now, what to say about Neeraj! I love all his films. I've seen Baby and Special 26 more than 20 times. And I like this one too. So, whenever I'll get chance, will surely watch this again and again.

On the whole, after collecting 20cr on the first day, the movie will fly high at box office. Without any promotions on TV, without any major star casts, this film is doing well, and there are two reasons- Dhoni and Neeraj Pandey. Public is smart and they know on whom they can trust. So, just go and see the film. A pure entertainer of this year. Get inspiration from Dhoni's life and his hard-work.

And one more request, please cheer up the hall. As I've seen some snapchat videos where the hall is silent even on the winning stroke. I'm lucky that the hall where I went was so enthusiastic to see this film, that every single stoke of Dhoni or even Gambhir or Yuvraj got applause. Some glimpse of Sachin, Sehwag or any other cricketer also got appreciation by the audience. In my life, I've heard cheers on a six or four in the cinema-hall rather than a stadium. These things made my day. Best movie experience of this year so far.

By far, my most favorite biopic film is Bhag Milkha Bhag. And after that, I guess this film.

M.S. Dhoni had a burden of expectations on it - not just because it is based on India's most beloved captain but also it had Neeraj Pandey as Director. The movie is well made but runs into too much of unnecessary stuff, especially in the second half. It is pretty much left on its own in the later part. Sushant Singh Rajput is bloody impressive with his uncanny resemblance to MSD, not just in terms of looks but also the expressions.

Story (7/10): The movie focused really well on the life of MSD before he became a household name. It focused a lot on the challenges, small town boys had been facing to get an entry into Indian cricket team about 10 years back when metro boys, especially Delhi and Mumbai, had a great influence on the team composition. What I also loved was the portrayal of Dhoni's work ethic - be it the scene of Yuvraj Singh or the booze. The first half of the story shows the tremendous amount of research done on the build up of MSD and the people involved in getting him into the Indian cricket team. Unfortunately, the story is left orphaned once it crosses that chapter. Too much focus on his love life was not just unnecessary but also slowed down the movie tremendously. I would have loved to see some focus on what exactly made him CAPTAIN COOL and at least some bits of behind the scenes portrayal of what happened in the dressing room in the 2011 WC Final. But the story just skips through that, which is a big let down.

Acting (10/10): Sushant Singh Rajput did a great job. He had a challenging role and his hard work showed in the way he projected MSD, in terms of looks as well as expressions. This would definitely go in as one of his best performances, arguably better than Byomkesh Bakshi. What I loved was the effort and the screen presence by the supporting cast - especially MSD's friend circle and also his school coach, played by Rajesh Sharma. The last time I saw such a level of presence by supporting cast was, perhaps, in Tanu Weds Manu series.

Direction (6/10): This was definitely below par performance of Neeraj Pandey, considering his reputation. While a lot of research and meticulousness went into the first half of the movie, it was equally misdirected and vague in the second half. The story pretty much ended at the point when MSD makes it into the Indian cricket team. I felt Neeraj Pandey tends to play safe and is compelled to add romance element irrespective of the movie genre, just like he did in Baby and Special 26 where, again, it wasn't required at all. And this is what takes down this movie. While three hours is pretty much expected in biopic movies, he didn't utilize it to the best.

Overall (7/10): It lives up to its tagline - The Untold Story - with some great research on the life of MSD in his early years but the movie just becomes directionless in the second half. But still, a good movie to watch, at least half of it.

It is said that leaders are not created rather they are born and such is the case with M.S.Dhoni. This real life based movie truly does justice to the hard work and commitment of Indian Cricket Captain and World Cup Winner M.S Dhoni. Neeraj Pandey has done a fabulous job to put up all the pieces in the desired sequence to create this masterpiece. Sushant Singh Rajput yet again impresses with his on screen performance and persona as everything about him is just perfect from head to toe in the movie. All the features starting from story, dialogues, cinematography, acting, music till direction is well knitted to form an impressive flick. However, the highlight remains Sushant Singh Rajput with his all the talent, skill and perfection doing full justice to the living legend of Indian cricket. It is quite visible that he has done a good research on Dhoni including his hair style, shyness, walking and famous "Helicopter Shot". The film outlines the struggle of M.S Dhoni from a railway ticket collector to the Captain of a World Champion team. It also highlights the issues pertaining to the changes made by him for transforming Indian Cricket team to a World Class Unit. The trend of making movies on real life events is gaining a lot of momentum in Bollywood and this one is the fresh addition to the list and probably the top of the line effort. M.S. Dhoni is already a star, living legend and a role model for cricketers all over the world and this film will surely add to his existing honor and prestige. A must watch film for those who believe in hard work, common man, fair play and M.S Dhoni!!!!

Thriller specialist Neeraj Pandey tried new genre Biopic with exceptionally brilliant manner.This one showcase the struggle of small town boy against all odds in his journey. Sushant Singh Rajput played tremendous match winning performance.He molded himself as middle class struggling young man to world conqueror. In first half, Neeraj has good grip on script but second half was slightly slow due to love stories and songs. Neeraj's favorite actor Anupam Kher was outstanding in the role of careful father. Anupam was part of each outing with Neeraj e.g. A Wednesday(Police commissioner), Special 26(P. K. Sharma) and last one Baby(Om Prakash Shukla).Disha looks cute in her role. Kaira was good in role of Sakshi. Rajesh Sharma,Kumud Mishra and Sarvadaman D.Banerjee were terrific. Herry Tangiri was really awesome choice for role of Yuvraj Singh.Script, Dialogue and Execution made it must watch for Cinema lover.

I am a dhoni fan but this movie is beyond fans of dhoni or fans of cricket... For general audience this will be a movie that's not just a treat but also a complete package... Coming back to fans of cricket! This is India.. And we like to idolise legends... The very fact that we can see the demi-gods we worship on a 100mm screen is surreal. There are moments were the theatre here in Chennai goes berserk.. The kind of reception the demi- gods of Tamil cinema get! I completely had the feeling of a thalaivar movie ... Each aspect of dhoni's life brilliantly portrayed in a way respectable to the man and to his colleagues.The way the movie teaches us that hard work can only pave way to success is taken . congratulations to the whole team... It was an experience which cannot be worded in a 1000 words limit given by IMDb. For a movie to have an explosive climax the middle order is the setup point... That's y the director chose to pace the love scenes just around the interval and then the last scene where the earth shattering response is still being felt by me after 12 hours... A dedication to a Legend... The Demi God I shall say!