Nothing You did not know about MS...

Rating: 6/10 (13 December 2016)

I have been someone who grew into the enigma of MS Dhoni. It started with a lot off apprehension on his unconventional methods and unexpected tactical decisions as captain. But then luck can be once or twice, genius has consistency. But what set Dhoni apart was not his cricketing prowess. It was his mental strength while pulling of those last over rescue operations day in and day out. The nerves of steel shown while defending small scores. And the ability to bring out the best from young players. So as a fan of both MS & Neeraj Pandey what I expected was the movie would explore this inner journey of the Man. What he speaks to himself while chasing 19 off 6 balls. What does he tell his bowlers during the nail biting finishes. How does he make decisions? by elimination? by intuition? or something else? Something that Chak De India - Movie did brilliantly. It misses the crucial point of how he was appointed the captain. How did the selectors make that decision. No where did we get to see how the character evolved as a leader. The movie turns out to be plain vanilla in terms of its treatment. Borders on too much self indulgence at times. Is painfully long. And as rightly put by my friend Bharath Reddy Ravuru the second half seems like a highlight package of his popular innings. I somehow could not connect with the character and root for him which i did say in case of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Paan Singh Tomar or for that matter even Sultan in spite of knowing the obvious climax. Only saving grace are the honest performances. Otherwise nothing great.