M.S. DHONI — THE UNTOLD  STORY (U)

Director: Neeraj Pandey 

Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Anupam Kher, Bhumika Chawla, Kiara Advani, Disha Patani, Rajesh Sharma

Running time: 190 minutes

When you narrate your memory of watching India’s World Cup-winning moment, seldom do you recollect what was happening on the TV in front of you. Because everyone remembers that: ball by ball, stroke by stroke, moment by moment. So you talk about where you were on that day, who you were with, what you were doing in those final few minutes, how you brought in the win.... Fathers and uncles narrate their stories of June 25, 1983; we still trip on April 2, 2011.

Neeraj Pandey’s M.S. Dhoni — The Untold Story takes you back to that evening in Wankhede Stadium and over the next three hours tries to dig deep into what was going on in the mind of the man in the middle when he steered his team and the collective dream of a billion-plus people to that elusive trophy. Not steered actually, lofted over long on into the golden pages of Indian cricket history. 

Unlike many cricketing heroes — and some villains — Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s cricket career doesn’t have the big conflicts that naturally translate to big cinematic moments. With a Douglas Jardine or even a Kapil Dev, you know the major plot points, the public controversies, the ultimate redemptions. But then again, as we saw with Azhar, it’s not about how colourful the story is, it’s about how you tell the story you are telling.

And here’s where Neeraj Pandey scores. From the moment he was born in Ranchi back in July 1981 till that final sixer in Mumbai, Pandey takes every little nugget from Dhoni’s life and makes it large with great scenes, terrific lines and fantastic all-round performances. 

Whether it’s the scene where MSD gets shingara and balushai for his friends the day he is not picked for the India Under-19 team, because he doesn’t want to forget the date. Or the scene when he actually gets picked for the India-A team but he wants to finish the badminton match he’s playing, before he goes out to celebrate. Or that absolutely knockout pre-interval scene when sitting on the Kharagpur platform he can hear the crowd chanting “Dhoni Dhoni” from inside an empty train and in that magic moment, he quits his job of a ticket collector to pursue his cricketing dream. 

Most of the stories about Mahi’s early struggles, his conflict with his father about job vs cricket, his gang of old friends and their unending support have come out in the media before — many in the pages of The Telegraph. The untold part in the film’s title only unfolds in the second half when Dhoni starts dating a girl named Priyanka at the start of his Team India career. Besides what actually happens to that love story —  which better not be spoiled here — what emerges clearly is Dhoni’s reluctance to commit to a relationship, the echoes of which will resurface when he starts seeing Sakshi.

In a biopic made in collaboration with the subject, there’s always the fear that it will turn out to be an exercise in eulogy but slipping in these strains of his commitment-phobia give the film that much-needed balance. As for the other controversial bits, Dhoni is shown citing fitness and fielding when he asks the selectors to drop his starry seniors from the One Day team. The other little juicy bit? There’s a lot of Yuvraj love in the film and almost complete sidelining of Gambhir — and his 97 in the 2011 final — and just one shot of Kohli... getting out!

Despite the 190-minute running time, the film never feels long or slow except during the two songs in the two love stories. Neeraj Pandey has previously too struggled with the romantic interludes in his films and he badly needed a better soundtrack here to see him through the mush. The songs throughout the film do not work at all and seem to belong to some other movie.

What not only belongs to the film but actually makes it, over and above every other winning element, is Sushant Singh Rajput as Mahendra Singh Dhoni. And not just because SSR has brilliantly replicated MSD’s mannerisms and gameplay (see box for more), he has infused the right doses of dreamy aspirations, steely determination and starry aura in a beautifully graphed performance.

Much of the international cricketing shots are VFX marvels where Sushant has been digitally composited with actual players in actual settings. And boy, the boy is so good, that it doesn’t bother us for a moment that an actor is hitting and catching in the middle of our cricketing heroes. By then he is truly, madly, deeply Dhoni. 

The rest of the cast is also very good. Pandey regulars Anupam Kher as the old-fashioned father and Rajesh Sharma as the obsessed school coach are delightful. Both Disha Patani and Kiara Advani are refreshing. Don’t miss the Kiran More cameo — quite fitting in a wicketkeeper biopic (and also a nod to the man who had coached Sushant to try and play like Dhoni).
Although you know large parts of this story, The Untold Story is so well told that you will come out bigger fans of M.S. Dhoni. Go in big groups, with friends and family, relive that MSD six and celebrate the man who’s given us so many happy memories. This one’s out of the park.


The best thing I learnt about Dhoni from the film  is....Tell t2@abp.in