Friday was a thrilling day for Patna as a city boy shone bright on the big screen.
Sushant Singh Rajput, the dapper star of M.S. Dhoni - The Untold Story, took to the pitch to essay our much-loved ODI skipper Mahi. And just like his real-life model MSD, SSR smashed it right out of the park.
Slotted for 26 shows in the city, cine-lovers thronged cinemas to watch a reel take on their favourite cricketer and their favourite boy.
"It is an excellent film and I enjoyed it thoroughly," said Anandpuri resident Nilesh Kumar. "The movie is more than three hours but not once did I find it boring. This is one of the best sports films I have watched in recent times."
Sushant has ample practice in sports films - he played a cricketer in his Bollywood debut Kai Po Che! also.
Cinepolis, Regent Fun Cinemas, Mona and Sushil Plaza are running Dhoni with maximum shows in Cinepolis's kitty at 13. Compared to other sports films released in the past few years such as Mary Kom, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Chak De! India and Paan Singh Tomar, Sushant's outing on the cricket pitch for a second time did extremely well. While all the other films did a business of below Rs 10 lakh in its own time, M.S. Dhoni - The Untold Story's first-day collection stood at Rs 16.8 lakh.
People from Bihar's sports fraternity were all praises for the Friday release directed by Neeraj Pandey.
Mritunjay Tiwari, Bihar Players' Association president and joint secretary of Bihar Cricket Association, said: "It is always good to watch a biopic on a sportsman but as far as I know, a biopic has never been made on an active sportsman. So, this would be really fun to watch. I have suggested sportspersons to watch this film."
The film is expected to do better business on the weekends and during Durga Puja as no new film is releasing by then. "This movie is excellent and people are going to enjoy it a lot," said Suman Kumar Sinha, the chairman-cum-managing director of Regent Theatre. "We are hoping of doing good business in the coming days and expect people to come in groups. The only other good film releasing recently is Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and that too will come in the last week of October. So people will have only one option and that is this movie."
President of Cine Society Patna Jai Mangal Deo said: "Dhoni has an unprecedented fan following and can even beat Sachin Tendulkar - not in terms of records but his style of playing. The other advantage is Sushant belongs to Bihar so people will like the movie. The only concern is the duration of the movie because nowadays people are not used to watching a three-hour movie."
That is likely to be no concern for homeboy Sushant as residents are expected to flock in droves to watch him on screen.
The young actor, who shot to limelight with his character Manav in the TV serial Pavitra Rishta, is an alumnus of St Karen's High School, Patna. The school's current principal Seema Singh was not at the institution during the actor's time but affirmed his affinity for sports.
"I have heard Sushant was a very good student and a good cricketer too," said Seema Singh. "In fact the PT teacher Manoj Kumar says he used to even make a sound while hitting a cover drive. He completed Class X from our school in 2002. We are proud he was from our institution."
(sept 26, 2014) Sushant's father K.K. Singh, who is very happy with his son's filmy spell, said: "My son told me three months back that he had met Dhoni to take cricketing tips from him. He was working hard to perfect Dhoni's helicopter shot. I am waiting for the film to release. My son is the lead in the biopic on Dhoni. So, there's a sense of pride. The recent biopics on Milkha Singh and Mary Kom have received appreciation from across the country and abroad. Hope, this too gets its due."
