MS Dhoni- The Untold Story
‘A feature film is that form of art which induces you to shed tears, laugh your heart out and ignites a thought inside you, no matter whatever the thought might be. It could be a provocation against your own weaknesses or a motivation and inspiration towards resilience.’ I have always believed in it and so, my take on this film, MS DHONI- THE UNTOLD STORY is entirely my point of view as per my faith and my understanding of films.
The film’s story is simple and clear. Like all the biographical films that say a story of a young boy or girl who is born in an underprivileged or unprivileged house and then with all the hard work and dedication makes a mark in the world. And why not? Isn't it supposed to be like that? Well, it works! An underdog character is always more inspiring than someone who had everything on a platter when he was born and then takes it forward towards betterment. But what matters is whether what is told is true or false. So here, in MS Dhoni’s case, it is pretty much true and believable. MS Dhoni is born to Pan Singh Dhoni and Devaki Devi in an underprivileged family of Ranchi. The story ahead is not to be told by me because it would be a spoiler for all my readers out here. And also, who doesn't know about who Dhoni is? Rest, much of what was untold and has been told in the film by Neeraj Pandey should be something for the viewers to go and watch themselves. Hence, in this case, mentioning any of the events that have been told in the film would be unjust to the maker and the audiences alike. But just to give an idea of the narrative, this biographical tale is an account of events of how Dhoni wins over all the odds and clears all the hurdles in his personal and professional life till he wins the 2011 World Cup for India.
Now, in this 3 hours 10 minute film, there are many incidents which you will yourself get to know for the first time. It is a revelation as to how Dhoni eventually makes into the national squad after compromising his ambitions at many levels for his loved ones. How it is, that despite good performances, he strives and perhaps starves for a place in the national squad and faces rejection more often than any other player of his times who succeed in making a place for themselves in the team. How it is to be an underperforming youngster and the strike back and retain his place in the team. How tough it is to be a young captain of a team which already has legends in it. This film gropes the emotions and turmoil of an individual about how hard it was to stop yourself from falling in love and spilling out his emotions when he has a huge responsibility of representing his nation in its most popular sport. How it is to lose things and people which he thinks he would have enough time later in his life for. And how it is to eventually win the world cup for a team which at one point of time in life he dreamt of making a place in.
The performances are excellent. Sushant Singh Rajput has done complete justice to the character and his hard work is quite evident in each frame he is in. He is a more promising actor than many of his contemporaries. His facial and physical resemblance (especially the eyes and nose) to MS Dhoni’s makes the character look even more believable. But where he kills it is in the way he bats! Yes, nowhere, at no time (even when there are no Visual Effects) you could say that he is not a professional cricketer. Anupam Kher who plays his father in the film is magnificent as always. Rajesh Sharma and Kumud Mishra are extremely impressive in their roles and so is other supporting cast. None of the actors have wasted their share of screen space. Kiera Advani and Disha Patani have delivered decent performances and look immensely beautiful. Bhumika Chawla has made a good comeback with the film and has retained her good acting skills. All the actors have held the Bihari dialect and it does sound look fake or overdone.
The screenplay by Neeraj Pandey and Dilip Jha has its loopholes but is overshadowed by the brilliant performances of the actors. However, there is a problem in the second half where the first 15 minutes are slow. In the remaining, it is evident that the writers had to say more in lesser time. But they anyhow have done it, convincingly (saved by Neeraj Pandey’s direction) The dialogues are written by Dilip Jha and are the another very strong pillar of the film. They are not imposed and forced out of any character and are conversational and witty. Moreover, dialogues play a major role in holding the film together with a weaker screenplay. Vicky Sidana impresses with his casting and background score has played a major role holding the excitement and energy in every scene. The film's runtime looks like an issue before we get into theaters but it does not hamper the film watching experience once you start sailing with the film. Yes, the songs could have been avoided but the director has taken some cinematic liberty as far as the addition of romance as an element is concerned. The songs composed by Amaal Malik are soulful and go with the feel of the film, although they might not find themselves in the list of chartbusters. The locations are beautiful and unlike Azhar, the makers have cleverly played with the real footage of the on-field moments by using visual effects rather than recreating them. It looks much more real and credible than the latest snapchat feature trending these days.The cinematography by Sudhir Palisade is exactly how you expect it to be in Neeraj Pandey’s films- more of single takes, mid shots and close ups. The editing by Shree Narayan Singh is fine as he succeeds in keeping the pace of the film intact despite its runtime. Neeraj Pandey is a fine director with his sensibilities at the correct place. This film is different than his past films (A Wednesday, Special 26 & Baby) but he has handled the biopic of a cricketer much more responsibly than many others who have in recent past. He succeeds in keeping the audience hooked and has wisely cut short the on-field events which we have already seen a hundred times. But at the same time, he has elaborately dealt with the events which were necessary.
MS DHONI- The Untold Story might look like a limited account of captain MS Dhoni’s life but at the same time it is a biographical drama film on the life of limited over captain of the Indian Cricket Team. It would be unfair for anyone to think that this film is Dhoni’s ‘hagiography’. It is not. Neither has Neeraj Pandey treated the subject with undue reverence nor does he try to serve any political agenda. A biographical drama is an account of someone's life by someone else. Nowhere in any dictionary, it is written that a biographical drama should be a ‘complete account’ of a person told by someone else. Moreover, when you watch the film you would believe that Dhoni has carefully opened his heart and mind out to the makers and has restricted himself from spilling out the dressing room secrets. You might not find it strange, keeping in mind that he still is a part of the squad and this also goes with his image of not pouring out all his emotions. The controversial aspects have not been touched much and are just cleverly mentioned for the audience to speculate.
Finally, if you want to watch how Mahi from Ranchi became nation’s Mahendra Singh Dhoni then this is the film for you and is worth your time and money. It tells a lot which was untold. But if your interest is in finding out whom did he oust from the team and who he likes or dislikes, who is his enemy and who is his friend then please do stick to your television screens and tune into the news channels which will definitely serve you better. This film might not do complete justice with what our expectations were, but this film will make you laugh and cry and this film will both entertain and inspire you at the same time. Most importantly, if you want to revisit the chilling moments and pressure of the historic world cup final of 2011, feel that India won the world cup again and celebrate in the same way you did 5 years ago, go and watch this film in the theaters near you. You actually might feel India winning the world cup, all over again. This time, at the silver screen!
The film’s story is simple and clear. Like all the biographical films that say a story of a young boy or girl who is born in an underprivileged or unprivileged house and then with all the hard work and dedication makes a mark in the world. And why not? Isn't it supposed to be like that? Well, it works! An underdog character is always more inspiring than someone who had everything on a platter when he was born and then takes it forward towards betterment. But what matters is whether what is told is true or false. So here, in MS Dhoni’s case, it is pretty much true and believable. MS Dhoni is born to Pan Singh Dhoni and Devaki Devi in an underprivileged family of Ranchi. The story ahead is not to be told by me because it would be a spoiler for all my readers out here. And also, who doesn't know about who Dhoni is? Rest, much of what was untold and has been told in the film by Neeraj Pandey should be something for the viewers to go and watch themselves. Hence, in this case, mentioning any of the events that have been told in the film would be unjust to the maker and the audiences alike. But just to give an idea of the narrative, this biographical tale is an account of events of how Dhoni wins over all the odds and clears all the hurdles in his personal and professional life till he wins the 2011 World Cup for India.
Now, in this 3 hours 10 minute film, there are many incidents which you will yourself get to know for the first time. It is a revelation as to how Dhoni eventually makes into the national squad after compromising his ambitions at many levels for his loved ones. How it is, that despite good performances, he strives and perhaps starves for a place in the national squad and faces rejection more often than any other player of his times who succeed in making a place for themselves in the team. How it is to be an underperforming youngster and the strike back and retain his place in the team. How tough it is to be a young captain of a team which already has legends in it. This film gropes the emotions and turmoil of an individual about how hard it was to stop yourself from falling in love and spilling out his emotions when he has a huge responsibility of representing his nation in its most popular sport. How it is to lose things and people which he thinks he would have enough time later in his life for. And how it is to eventually win the world cup for a team which at one point of time in life he dreamt of making a place in.
The performances are excellent. Sushant Singh Rajput has done complete justice to the character and his hard work is quite evident in each frame he is in. He is a more promising actor than many of his contemporaries. His facial and physical resemblance (especially the eyes and nose) to MS Dhoni’s makes the character look even more believable. But where he kills it is in the way he bats! Yes, nowhere, at no time (even when there are no Visual Effects) you could say that he is not a professional cricketer. Anupam Kher who plays his father in the film is magnificent as always. Rajesh Sharma and Kumud Mishra are extremely impressive in their roles and so is other supporting cast. None of the actors have wasted their share of screen space. Kiera Advani and Disha Patani have delivered decent performances and look immensely beautiful. Bhumika Chawla has made a good comeback with the film and has retained her good acting skills. All the actors have held the Bihari dialect and it does sound look fake or overdone.
The screenplay by Neeraj Pandey and Dilip Jha has its loopholes but is overshadowed by the brilliant performances of the actors. However, there is a problem in the second half where the first 15 minutes are slow. In the remaining, it is evident that the writers had to say more in lesser time. But they anyhow have done it, convincingly (saved by Neeraj Pandey’s direction) The dialogues are written by Dilip Jha and are the another very strong pillar of the film. They are not imposed and forced out of any character and are conversational and witty. Moreover, dialogues play a major role in holding the film together with a weaker screenplay. Vicky Sidana impresses with his casting and background score has played a major role holding the excitement and energy in every scene. The film's runtime looks like an issue before we get into theaters but it does not hamper the film watching experience once you start sailing with the film. Yes, the songs could have been avoided but the director has taken some cinematic liberty as far as the addition of romance as an element is concerned. The songs composed by Amaal Malik are soulful and go with the feel of the film, although they might not find themselves in the list of chartbusters. The locations are beautiful and unlike Azhar, the makers have cleverly played with the real footage of the on-field moments by using visual effects rather than recreating them. It looks much more real and credible than the latest snapchat feature trending these days.The cinematography by Sudhir Palisade is exactly how you expect it to be in Neeraj Pandey’s films- more of single takes, mid shots and close ups. The editing by Shree Narayan Singh is fine as he succeeds in keeping the pace of the film intact despite its runtime. Neeraj Pandey is a fine director with his sensibilities at the correct place. This film is different than his past films (A Wednesday, Special 26 & Baby) but he has handled the biopic of a cricketer much more responsibly than many others who have in recent past. He succeeds in keeping the audience hooked and has wisely cut short the on-field events which we have already seen a hundred times. But at the same time, he has elaborately dealt with the events which were necessary.
MS DHONI- The Untold Story might look like a limited account of captain MS Dhoni’s life but at the same time it is a biographical drama film on the life of limited over captain of the Indian Cricket Team. It would be unfair for anyone to think that this film is Dhoni’s ‘hagiography’. It is not. Neither has Neeraj Pandey treated the subject with undue reverence nor does he try to serve any political agenda. A biographical drama is an account of someone's life by someone else. Nowhere in any dictionary, it is written that a biographical drama should be a ‘complete account’ of a person told by someone else. Moreover, when you watch the film you would believe that Dhoni has carefully opened his heart and mind out to the makers and has restricted himself from spilling out the dressing room secrets. You might not find it strange, keeping in mind that he still is a part of the squad and this also goes with his image of not pouring out all his emotions. The controversial aspects have not been touched much and are just cleverly mentioned for the audience to speculate.
Finally, if you want to watch how Mahi from Ranchi became nation’s Mahendra Singh Dhoni then this is the film for you and is worth your time and money. It tells a lot which was untold. But if your interest is in finding out whom did he oust from the team and who he likes or dislikes, who is his enemy and who is his friend then please do stick to your television screens and tune into the news channels which will definitely serve you better. This film might not do complete justice with what our expectations were, but this film will make you laugh and cry and this film will both entertain and inspire you at the same time. Most importantly, if you want to revisit the chilling moments and pressure of the historic world cup final of 2011, feel that India won the world cup again and celebrate in the same way you did 5 years ago, go and watch this film in the theaters near you. You actually might feel India winning the world cup, all over again. This time, at the silver screen!
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