Cast – Sushant Singh Rajput, Kiara Advani, Disha Patani, Anupam Kher, Bhumika Chawla
Writer/Director – Neeraj Pandey
Screenplay by – Neeraj Pandey, Dilip Jha
I am sure Dhoni fans would be pretty happy with this movie which focuses more on the making of the legend rather than his life after he became legendary.
The story begins right from the day he was born, focusing a lot on his childhood and teenage. Beautifully portrayed is his small town life with friends and family standing by him like a rock.
It’s heart-warming to see the loyalty and dedication of his friends and mentors who always believed that he would arrive one day. You realise that it’s not only efforts and hard work of the person concerned but a lot many people, their support and good faith that goes into making of a legend sometimes.
Their prime role in this story is perhaps Dhoni’s way of acknowledging their support in his life.
What hardcore cricket fans and followers would find missing is the focus on his professional life after he became the legend that he is. His relationship with team mates, BCCI , his strategies etc have almost been skipped. What the film maker chose to show instead is his love life and romances. The extra footage and songs of this phase slacken the pace.
The second half droops quite a bit because of repetitiveness .
Performance wise Sushant Singh Rajput has done a great job in terms of adopting body language and mannerisms and his playing style including some of his trademark shots. The support cast is great including Rajesh Sharma, Kumud Mishra, Kiara Advani and many others.
Direction is good with a lot of detailing whether in terms of his small town life or Dhoni’s wardrobe and styling etc.
The only thing lacking in the script is the courage to bring up the people and incidents who mattered after he became successful. Some focus on his cricketing and ground strategies and his team mates would have been welcome. But I guess they chose to play it safe.
The movie is entertaining in spite of its length and duration. Something really interesting was the real footage that they used of the important matches with cleverly edited and inserted with Sushant’s face,almost flawlessly.
Overall, the movie is worth a watch. Be prepared for 3 and a half hours run including interval and promos.
Score 7 on 10.