M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story
M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language biographical sports drama film directed
and co-written by Neeraj Pandey. It is based on the life of former Test, ODI and T20I captain of the
Indian national cricket team, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The film stars the late Sushant Singh Rajput as
MS Dhoni, along with Disha Patani, Kiara Advani, and Anupam Kher. The film chronicles the life of
Dhoni from a young age through a series of life events.
The idea of the biopic was put forward by Dhoni's manager, Arun Pandey, after encountering an
incident at an airport after the 2011 Cricket World Cup Final. Development began two years later,
with the consent of Dhoni. Neeraj Pandey was later approached to helm the film while he was
working on Baby. Pandey recruited a number of people for researching into Dhoni's background and
his life events. Dhoni eventually became a consultant on the film.
The film was released on 30 September 2016 by Fox Star Studios and received the widest release
ever for a Bollywood film across 61 countries. In addition to being released in Hindi language, it was
also dubbed in Tamil, Telugu, and Marathi languages, although the Marathi release was later
cancelled due to opposition. Upon release, the film became a critical and commercial success. It is
the fifth highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2016 and sixth highest grossing Indian film of 2016
worldwide ₹215.48 crore (US$26 million).
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In the pre-credits sequence there is a scene of the 2011 Cricket World Cup Final. MS Dhoni, India's
captain, walks out to bat after Virat Kohli's wicket.
The film begins in Ranchi, 7 July 1981. At the hospital maternity unit, Paan Singh Dhoni is confused
whether he has got a girl or boy. He later names his baby boy Mahendra 'Mahi' Singh Dhoni. Paan
Singh is a pump operator who waters the practice ground. Fourteen years later, Mahi is spotted by a
cricket coach while goalkeeping in a football game. He invites him to try out for the school cricket
team as a wicketkeeper and selects him after being impressed. Mahi improves his batting and
becomes a regular member of the team.
Three years later, a grown up Mahi helps win an inter-school cricket match. After achieving much
fame, Mahi is selected for the Ranji Trophy but his draft notice is held up due to which he is late in
reaching Kolkata despite his friends' help. But Mahi does not give up and, to please his father, hejoins the Kharagpur Station as a ticket collector.
Years later, Mahi's sister Jayanti is married to his
friend Gautam Gupta.
After some time, Mahi is depressed with his job.
With the insistence of his manager, Mahi decides
to play cricket alongside his work, and after his
day-shifts he goes to practice cricket. He
participates in different tournaments and as a
result he gets selected for the Railways. After a
good performance, he tries-out for the India
national under-19 cricket team selections. Bihar
loses to Punjab where Yuvraj Singh scores 301 and
Mahi does not succeed though he is selected for
the Duleep Trophy.
Mahi leaves his job and admits to his father that
cricket is his only ambition and he wants to
become a professional cricketer. He works hard
and is selected in the national team and makes his
debut. He meets and befriends Priyanka Jha, an
office consultant, and scores a century after
meeting her. She buys a watch for him as a
Valentine's Day gift but dies in a truck accident on
her way. Mahi again goes into depression and has
bad form in the 2007 Cricket World Cup. As
captain of the national side, he wins the T-20
World Cup, and leads India to the number one
ranking in Test matches.
In 2010, Mahi arrives at a hotel. Sakshi Singh
Rawat, a hotel official fails to recognize him and
later apologizes to him. They soon start dating
and Mahi eventually proposes marriage to her
after she mentions buying him a Valentine's Day's
gift which he refuses. They marry and Mahi begins
training for the 2011 World Cup. He eventually
develops the team with new players. The film
M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Neeraj Pandey
Written by Neeraj Pandey
Dilip Jha
Produced by Arun Pandey
Fox Star Studios
Starring Sushant Singh
Rajput
Disha Patani
Kiara Advani
Anupam Kher
Bhumika Chawla
Kranti Prakash Jha
Alok Pandey
Cinematography Sudheer Palsane
Edited by Shree Narayan Singh
Music by Score:
Sanjoy Chowdhury
Songs:
Amaal Mallik
