Critics’ Verdict: The MS Dhoni Biopic Is Mostly a Winner

Sushant Singh Rajput shines as MS Dhoni in the biopic.

Film: MS Dhoni: The Untold Story

Director: Neeraj Pandey

Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Kiara Advani, Anupam Kher, Bhumika Chawla, Disha Patani

Excerpts from reviews of the film MS Dhoni: The Untold Story :

The movie is less a study of psyche than of personality. But within its hagiographic constraints, Pandey and lead actor Sushant Singh Rajput assert themselves admirably. The most compelling portions that depict the trudge into the spotlight are all in the first 100-odd minutes, tracing Dhoni’s school-level breakthroughs with the guidance of his physical trainer (Rajesh Sharma), and the encouragement from a supportive mother and sister and loyal friends. Rajput works admirably within the limits and displays a dogged determination in wrapping his head around a character whose inner life remains out of bounds. By depicting Dhoni as a loner within a crowd rather than as a gregarious person, the actor perhaps inadvertently gets to the movie’s core.

Nandini Ramnath (Scroll.in)

This film had potential to present us with the recent Indian cricketing story, warts and all. Sadly it’s more hagiography than biography: the cricketer is reduced to a being singing-dancing Bollywood hero rather than a top-flight cricketer, a master strategist, and a captain who led from the front. True champions have that edge that no one else does: on that score, the real-life Dhoni hits it out of the park, every single time. Too bad the reel Dhoni gets stumped just when he is getting started.

Shubhra Gupta (IndianExpress.com)

Untold? Quite debatable that. No newsy, startling revelations and private life insights here - unless you count those rapturous romantic interludes with Mrs Sakshi Dhoni and asides about a former girlfriend. Like it or not, these are a must for the mushy and musical quotient. Such reservations apart, when Pandey vivifies the struggle of Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Sushant Singh Rajput), the outcome is a winning ode to the triumph of the will. Undoubtedly, the director-writer of A Wednesday and Special 26, has a legible style and signature, which are of superior quality in the hackneyed morass of multiplex entertainment today. Of the acting crew, Disha Patani despite a predictably written role, projects an endearing screen presence. Above all, Sushant Singh Rajput owns the film, incarnating the cricket star by not being cussedly imitative. Rather he bats right into the skin of the character and is consistently riveting as the man whose bouts of anxiety are counter-balanced by pure ecstasy.

Khalid Mohamed (Spotboye.in)

The director’s hands are forced. He adopts a tame, sterile, straitjacketed approach to the story, depriving M S Dhoni - The Untold Story of genuine purchase. This is a listless cricket drama more intent on airbrushing the protagonist than on presenting a rounded, hard-nosed, neutral cinematic sketch of the man and the athlete.The film, though intolerably long, is competently executed. It has a stellar performance from Sushant Singh Rajput, some moments of hilarity, a dash of tragedy and a clutch of strong supporting actors.

Saibal Chatterjee (Movies.Ndtv.com)

The film runs through the major signposts in Dhoni’s career, but we never get a sense of how victory and defeat affected the man or altered his game or personality. The 2007 World Cup loss, after which his effigy was burnt outside his home in Ranchi, is widely regarded as a turning point in his life. Here, it just comes and goes—a little detail in the inexorable rise of Dhoni. Same with the 2007 World Twenty20 win, the origin of the Dhoni-as-leader legend. M.S. Dhoni is a blandly professional piece of work. This might be enough for fans of the man, but for anyone who’d hoped that the first ever film about a still-active Indian cricketer might have traces of insight or daring, this will likely be a disappointment.

Uday Bhatia (LiveMint.com)