MOVIE REVIEW: "M.S. Dhoni" - a truly inspirational Bollywood biopic

Not every film has the ability to bring a genuine smile to your face, and “M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story” does just that. After a string of disappointing Bollywood feature films this year, I came across this 2016 biopic of former professional Indian cricketer and Indian national team’s captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni that is well directed (by Neeraj Pandey) to my expectations, and deserves the tired old phrase “gem of a movie” to promote it.

I refrain reading reviews of films in the mainstream media because they give away critical parts of the plot by the synopsis or even with the “spoiler alerts” on. Which is why I usually keep my “film reviews” (if it can be called that) short, because I enjoy films and books without the details spoiled by reviewers. But just to give a hint of how well “Dhoni”’s direction is, let’s just say that - in addition to the film being truly inspirational - it also has a moment which gave me quite an unexpected jolt.

“Dhoni” is not another “Lagaan” or “Swades” but another plus point is that, it evoked the same kind of feelings I had when I watched the latter two films. So although I would not use the word ‘epic’ in its normal sense, “Dhoni” is such a personally epic movie that I am truly inspired by Dhoni’s optimism and hopeful life messages relating to perseverance and patience in the face of the utmost obstacles, and therefore, I am sure I will revisit “Dhoni” again after giving some time and space to watching other films.

The magic lies in the fact that “Dhoni”’s full 3 hours does not feel long at all, and therefore, should be credited to a great script. Indeed, director Pandey delivers the goods by doing justice to Dhoni’s emotional ups and downs, sometimes directly and sometimes subtly.

And not to forget, his rendition of Dhoni’s life is cinematically magical because every actor seems natural that makes you feel as if the film is not a movie but an experience you are going through by yourself. And this definitely is achievable because the director pays attention to even the little details.