The World Awaits M.S Dhoni – The Untold Story

             Sports biopics are one of the most inspirational genres in cinema. The grit and courage, as well as successive failures and finally the elusive victory is a heady mix that can always captivate the audience, irrespective of age, gender or race. The power of empathy allows every member of the audience to share in the pride and victory and instantly imbues everyone with a positive feeling. Beginning with The Champion starring Charlie Chaplin, which was released in 1915, this genre has captured the imagination of people the world over.

Classics like Chariots of Fire, with its popular soundtrack, is still watched avidly. There are a large number of such films that have inspired a large number of people and some of the most notable ones are Race, Jesse Owen's ostory, Ali which tells the story of Muhammed Ali, the boxer, Cinderalla Man which tells the story of another boxer James J Braddock and Prefontaine which tells the story of the American long distance runner Steve Prefontaine.  

          In a country like India, which has seen very few films in this category, a spurt in the production of such films can be seen beginning with Chak De India which was inspired by the true story of the women’s hockey team coach Mir Ranjan Negi. Starring Shah Rukh Khan, this 2007 film inspired many Indians and bred a love for the much ignored national game, hockey. A love for sports and the passion it ignites can be seen in the Aamir Khan starrer Lagaan which focuses on cricket as its fulcral point and although this is not based on fact, it is the first sports based film in India and set the precedent. Mary Kom and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, the former tells the story of Mary Kom, the boxer and the latter that of Milkha Singh, also known as the ‘Flying Sikh’ are some of the greatest Indian sports biopics so far.

          The latest and much awaited film to join this group is M.S Dhoni – The Untold Story, which is slated for release at the end of this month, tells the story of the Indian cricketer M.S Dhoni and is directed by Neeraj Pandey. The cricketer has insisted all through that the film should not deviate from facts and that he is against glorification and at an event in New York, he said that he was happy the film had done justice to his life. In the cricketer’s own words, "It shows my childhood, playing football and then cricket. I was slightly lagging behind in cricket. Then, I went to Kharagpur," and it was this move that changed his life. In a promotional event for the film Dhoni said that the greatest thing in his life was to play for his country, "It is the same for any sportsperson.Not everybody gets a chance to play for India.And, to represent for 15 years is something special and cherish."

          The film has been made on a budget of sixty lakh rupees and has already made this money through the sale of satellite rights and the contribution of various brands that are represented. M.S Dhoni, is a cricketer who is admired the world over for his captaincy skills and the amazing success that the Indian team has seen during his tenure, especially winning the ODI and T20 World Cups. The world waits in anticipation for this movie which is said to be revealing hitherto unknown facts about the One Day skipper. Sushant Singh Rajput plays the lead role and Dhoni has said that the actor has taken great pains to mirror even his gait and this lends originality to the portrayal. This biopic is awaited for it reveals the life of one of the most committed sportspersons in the world whose spirit is revealed in these words, “I believe in giving more than hundred % on the field, and I don’t really worry about the result. If there is great commitment on the field, that is victory for me.”                    

                                                                   Lakshmi Prasannan