This Sunday, one of my all time wishes came true. I got a chance to meet the man behind a majority of our cricketing glories—Mr M. S. Dhoni—and watch his biopic at PVR, Ambience mall, Gurgaon. We also got a chance to speak to Mahi; part of a campaign initiative by Revital H, where over 100 fans across the country were invited to watch the biopic with the cricketer.If you sense a surge of jealousy creeping up your mind reading this, we feel you.
Writer: Neeraj Pandey, Dilip Jha
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Disha Patani, Kiara Advani
Being a huge fan of the man that I am, it was obvious that my expectations from the movie was pretty high. The trend of making movies on individuals, and especially sportsmen, is a relatively recent phenomenon in Bollywood. It was still a bit early for the Dhoni biopic, though; not because his story isn't already good enough, but because it's far from over yet.
Dhoni personifies hard work, diligence and passion, and that’s what the movie conveys. Capturing him as a little kid to hitting the final six to win the World Cup, the movie is a roller coaster ride that takes you through the small town of Ranchi to the biggest torunamnet in cricket.
In between is everything; family, love, loss, passion, heart break and success. Fan or not, there is no way you will walk away from the theatre without a heavy-heart; out of reverence, if not sadness.
Apart from the story, acting is what does wonders for the movie. Sushant Singh Rajput has almost replicated the nuances of Mahi. The first half of the movie is definitely more interesting as it deals with the ball-smacking, boundary-hitting Mahi while the second half delves into his love life. We are once more made aware why Neeraj Pandey is one the best directors in the country; making small towns and character come to life so you feel them in your gut.
You may feel that the movie sort of lingers {runtime of over three hours} as the unexpected, foreign-locations flash over the screen, {unnecessary really}, but all in all, the biopic works well to establish who Mahi is, where he comes from and how he became the phenomenon that he is.
Fan or not, you should head to your nearest theatre to catch this movie.
Book you tickets here.
