MS Dhoni: The Man We Now Know

You don't often see a biopic made on the life of a cricketer who's still active in his career. So a Bollywood movie on the life of MS Dhoni was always going to be special. And why not! After all, Dhoni is one of the most celebrated cricketers in India's cricketing history and his achievements as captain of the Indian cricket team are unmatched. As someone who has admired the man’s cricketing acumen, I was looking forward to this film with much anticipation. I went in as a fan of MS Dhoni the cricketer, but came out as a fan of MS Dhoni the human being.

It is impossible for a filmmaker to sum up the life of a 35-year old cricketer in just 3 hours. But to the director's credit, we can tell he's done his best and given us an honest portrayal of the man we all admire. As for the film, the best part about the entire storyline was the fact that it prominently depicted the journey of an aspiring young cricketer, and not the hullabaloo and fanfare that comes along with it. As fans and armchair critics, it is easy for us to put down a particular cricketer when he's had a bad day at the office. But we often fail to acknowledge the sacrifices he has to make even to get to that stage. All this makes for an interesting behind-the-scenes reel, which has been brilliantly portrayed by the makers of this film. Those who've watched the movie know that there are certain creative liberties taken as far as Dhoni's personal life is concerned. But the cricketing aspects have come out cleanly without being tampered with. Sushant Singh Rajput has done a fabulous job of playing the on screen Dhoni. There are moments in the film when you actually start seeing the real Dhoni in him.

For cricket and especially Dhoni fans, this movie is a revelation of the other side of the man behind India's World Cup wins. It tells us why Dhoni had to take certain tough calls in his career and what made him so successful, who were the people who shaped his childhood and many other things that Dhoni himself wouldn't otherwise speak openly about. The film is also a gentle reminder of the fact that sheer hard work and determination can take you to the greatest heights of success, and it is not always necessary to have godfathers. It also taught us an important life lesson - you don't need a lot of friends to succeed in life. Few quality friends who can selflessly go the distance just to see you succeed are the ones you hold onto.