Expectations
Biopics made on the lives of sport person are among the latest fad in our Hindi film industry. We have seen films on the lives of marathon runners, boxer, cricketers and others. The latest to join this genre is 'M.S. Dhoni - The Untold Story', which is based on the life of India's most favourite captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Thus, right since the first announcement of this biopic, cricket fans have been waiting on their toes to see the unexplored side of their most loved cricketers. The expectations went sky high as the trailer managed to hit the right note.
Story
'M.S.Dhoni - The Untold Story' is a story of Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Sushant Singh Rajput) showcasing the hardship and struggle he went through in his childhood and youth days. Mahendra's father Pan Singh Dhoni (Anupam Kher) always wanted his son to get a secured job and lead a happy life. But ever since his youth days, Mahendra wanted to focus only on cricket. Mahendra is coached by Banerjee (Rajesh Sharma) and guided by many others, so that he can play for India. After lot of struggle and hardship, Mahendra makes his way into the Indian cricket team. But his hardship does not end out there as a new chapter full of ups and downs begins in his life.
The 'Glitz' Factor
The story mainly focuses on the earlier life followed by the personal life of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The first half despite of being lengthy is highly captivating. The entire childhood part related to Sushant's obsession for batting followed by his bonding with his coach is shown in an enthusing manner.
The first half of the film are totally intriguing and enjoyable.. There are many small instances which works in the favour of the film. The romance part involving Disha Patani is cute. The entire courtship track works as a fresh breeze in the film. The finale part involving the world cup victory is entertaining and nostalgically emotional. The special effects, especially in the finale part is of top notch.
The mixing of real life visuals along with Sushant in place of Dhoni looks real and flawless.Despite of having less scope for music, songs like 'Besabriyaan', 'Kaun Tujhe' and 'Phir Kabhi' are superb. Background music works in the favour of the film.
Director Neeraj Pandey ventures into the past life of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and highly succeeds in narrating the partly untold story of one of the India's most loved captain. He excels in almost all the departments right from extracting fantastic performances, gripping narration and making the movie engaging as well as entertaining.
Sushant Singh Rajput gives one of those lifetime type of performance. He excels his performance with help of all the necessary mannerisms and detailing related to the real life character. This movie portrays his fantastic talent as an actor. Disha Patani looks beautiful and reminds you of young Amrita Rao. Her chemistry with Sushant is short, sweet and enjoyable. Kiara Advani is fine in her part but her character needed more substance. Anupam Kher, Rajesh Sharma, Bhumika Chawla and Kumud Mishra lends good support.
The 'Non-Glitz' Factor
Post interval things move at jet speed and cricket take a back seat as we are forced to watch the dragging and filmi romantic track of Sushant and Kiara Advani. This track dilutes the intensity of the film. The writer's fails to elaborate the important parts along with the controversies related to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, without even giving us the proper insight.
Many tough decisions of Mahendra Singh Dhoni are unexplained making the movie go totally against its title. The special effects showing Sushant in his teens playing local match in the late 90's era is terrible. It's only that as the movie ends, you are left a bit dissatisfied as many of important chapters of Dhoni’s life were neither explored nor shown in a proper manner.
The second half demanded the inside story of Dhoni's career followed by his memorable innings, making tough decisions as a captain along with highlighting the pressures as a captain. This clearly states that the makers wanted to make a safe film glorifying the ace cricketer.
Final 'Glitz'
'M.S. Dhoni - The Untold Story' is a decent one-time watch with a fantastic first half and superb performance by Sushant Singh Rajput. The second half is dragging and weak. At the end of the day this movie lacks the captain’s innings and works only on a few of its individual merits.
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