Cinematic excellence at it's absolute best!

Rating: 10/10 (3 October 2016)

Doing a biopic is a tough job, especially when it is of a cricketer who is a national hero, loved like no other with a fan following no less than a big actor but hats off to Neeraj Pandey for nailing this one.
The film shows us the struggles of a young and determined Dhoni's ambition to become an Indian National team cricketer. The story grips you throughout! As you learn more and more about this amazing player and captain, your respect goes up for him by 10 times because of what he went through to get there. He isn't just your average man, and the film shows exactly why that's the case.
Neeraj Pandey is no doubt one of the best directors in the industry. His films are straight to the point, minus the commercial nonsense which too many of today's films contains. I loved A Wednesday, Special Chabbis and Baby so much, so I was so excited to watch this, and he hasn't disappointed. The amount of detail he has gone into is amazing.
As for the performances, Sushant's performance was breathtaking! As a cricketer myself, I can appreciate the work he put into really understanding the game and learning how to bat like Dhoni. It is safe to say that his hard work paid off - he's mannerisms, the way he walks to the creases and the shots were practically perfect and at no point do you think that this isn't Dhoni himself! This is no doubt his best work, and in my opinion the best male lead performance of the year to date! As for the two leading ladies, they both looked beautiful and did justice to their role. What can you say any Anupam Kher which hasn't been said before? He excels in every Neeraj Pandey film, and he does it again as Dhoni's father. All the other support case is excellent. I really like Dhoni's friend circle in the film and how they support him throughout all his troubles.
The music of the film is another highlight. Amaal Malik has done wonders and delivered one of the best albums of the year. Jab Tak, Kaun Tujhe, Besabriyaan are 3 of the best songs of the album and go perfectly with the film. Again, I'm happy there's no 'commercial' rubbish like an item song, which would have ruined the film.
Yes the film is over 3 hours but it honestly doesn't feel long enough. You won't want to leave the cinema hall because you'll feel you haven't found out enough about the legend. I can't wait to watch the film again!