Despite Sushant Singh Rajput and rest of the cast’s efforts, the film fails because it is not Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s biography, it is his hagiography.

The film plays out less like an engaging life story than an in-your-face big-screen advertorial.

Only the very gullible or the very generous would be inclined to take M S Dhoni – The Untold Story as anything more than an image management company’s attempt to bolster and extend the power of a lucrative brand that is nearing the end of its currency.

Neeraj Pandey proves that he is a Dhoni fanboy. The movie starts out awesomely well, telling us details about Mahi’s early life we eagerly lap up. But we want to know about his growth from getting selected in the team to becoming a captain. We get Bollywood style romance instead and then we begin to look at the time: 190 minutes. Cricket wins, but…

It’s a pity, for this is a story of a man who enjoyed unprecedented success despite having the odds stacked against him every step of the way. What could have been a novel way to bring the discussion of sports as a sustainable profession in every household is unlike its titular character in real life, unremarkable.