Warning: Spoilers Alert

The following article is by a user and is not IndiaGlitz's take towards anyone or anything. Written by Bharath Vijayakumar

Realistic cinema that entertains has been the forte of Duet Movies and Dhoni is no different. Close on the heels of the magnum opus Nanban which took a dig at the education system, we have Dhoni which makes a scathing attack on the same.

Prakash Raj makes his debut as a director in Tamil and he impresses. Though titled Dhoni, the movie is like a typical Dravid innings - slow, steady and with a purpose.

Plot

The basic premise of Dhoni is how our education system fails to encourage kids who are not very good in academics but are immensely talented in other fields. Prakash Raj plays Subbu who is the lone parent of two kids. He happens to be a doting middle class father who puts in a lot of hard work to make ends meet. He wants his children to get the best of education. But his son (Aakash) is interested in cricket and is not able to cope with his academics. Things get to a point when his school unceremoniously decides to sack Aakash. Subbu in a fit of rage does something, that has devastating consequences and life isn't the same anymore for him and his kids. It is only now that Subbu realizes that the fault was not with his son but rather with the education system itself.

Performances

Prakash Raj as usual excels as an actor. Aakash (Telugu director Poori Jagannath's son) as the young boy who is passionate about cricket is adequate. But his lip sync is awry. It puts us off initially and it takes a while to get accustomed to it. The girl who plays his sister impresses. There is something poignant about Raadhika Aapte's beauty. She also scores with her subtle performance. Murali Sharma as the tough yet kind hearted money lender is a welcome entrant to Tamil cinema (Has Samuthirakani dubbed for him?). The entire support cast that includes veterans like Nassar, Thalaivasal Vijay and Brahmanandham does a fair job.

Illaiyaraja’s songs and soulful background music gel well with the narrative and never stick out yearning for attention. The dialogues though preachy at times are sharp and strike a chord with the audience.

Few areas in the movie suffer from lack of finesse. The weird hair color of the chief minister (played by Sarath Babu) is an example. The comedy track of Chaams though not bad, seems out of place. Ending the movie on a positive note is fine. But the cricket match in the climax looks amateurish and too dramatic to say the least. Six runs required from the last ball and there are three slips in position!

Bottom-line:

Some flaws notwithstanding ‘Dhoni’ is surely a winner. With a subject very relevant in the current scenario and an engrossing narrative for the most part, ‘Dhoni’ makes the winning post, adding yet another feather in the cap of Duet Movies.

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