Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s biography proves that if you have talent and a bit of luck, you can mack it. A pity then that the film starring Sushant Singh Rajput doesn’t do justice to his cricketing career. To create a true, full-blooded biopic, filmmakers need a free-hand;
MS Dhoni The Untold Story, which claims to give us Mahendra Singh Dhoni Uncut, is much more generous with details from his childhood and his days of struggle than from his blazing tenure as star wicketkeeper-batsman-captain of the indian cricket team. The result, with the exception of a few interesting bits and pieces, is bland and predictable. The over-long film cherry-picks the details it wants to serve us, skirting all grey areas and controversies; there are no smart nose-digs, only ingratiating bouquest; only hurrahs(the critique is so muted that we can barely hear it), and loud background music which is used to drum up emotion and dream. it begins with promise. young mahi is more interested in football, badminton and tennis, and tries to blow off his first coach(Rajesh Sharma) who spot his potential. The entire’bachpan’-adolescence section, featuring the father(Anupam Kher) who thinks a job will tack his son much further than sport, the mother who belives in her son, the sister(Bhumika Chawla) who is a solid support to him, his bunch of loyal friends who just know he can do it, has been crafted with heart and feels authentic. We see Mahi(Sushant Singh Rajput) trying and failing and trying again, despite all the roadblocks, to keep his eye on his goal; to be part of the Indian team and play for his country, and we root for him. till then, bully for Neeraj Panday and the film, even if it is already feeling stretched and repetitive. what work for the film in the first half is the lifelike-creation of life in a small town(Ranchi), a family getting by on slender means and yet being able to find it in themselves to get behind a bright-eyed lad who dreams big, and is willing to work for it. In the way it shows Mahi’s often herculean attempts to became visible to the power that be(he cn smash the ball all across the ground effortlessly, and wicket-keep beautifully too), the film becomes almost copybook in telling us that strokes may come easy but getting invited into privileged sporting enclaves is exceedingly tough. But, and this is the message that comes through loud and clear, that it can be done. you can be a small town boy, and if you have talent and a little bit of luck, you can be unstoppable. up till here, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s story, the mostly untold part for most of us, holds us. It tell us that it is right for us to aspire, and that anyone can do it. Then the curse of the second half strikes, and it goes into an irreversible slide. Two romances arrive in swift succession(Disha Patani, Kiara Advani, both sparkly, both reduced to sidebars). There are songs. There is a stab at the intrigue that governs selection processes at various cricketing bodies, including the mighty BCCI, but it is laughably feeble.The entire focuse is on Dhoni who is shown as the sole match-winner from the Indian side. His teammates, which include Indian cricketing greats(saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulker and others), are seen in flashs, either from the back or in profile. There is no dressing room banter with his team-mate No scenes, in fact, with other players, except for a couple of stray ones with Yuvraj Singh(Harry Tangri). The quality of cricketing on scren is excellent. Rajput looks right at home with the bat and gloves, as do the other actors on the pitch. you wish there were some more cricketers-all significant contributors to Indian tests and one-day cricket and the glitzy T20 tournaments, during the years Dhoni entered and captained them-in this tale. For cricket is a team spot, right? Ms Dhoni mackes it seem like a one-man army.