Sushant Singh Rajput transformed into MS Dhoni to play the former ace cricketer in Neeraj Pandey's film MS Dhoni: The Untold Story. The Hindi film, which was both a commercial and critical success, cemented Sushant Singh Rajput's position as a rising star in Bollywood.
MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, also starring Kiara Advani and Disha Patani, released nine years ago on September 30. Here's revisiting an old interview of MS Dhoni's close friend and co-producer of his biopic, Arun Pandey where he talked about how Sushant Singh Rajput put his heart and soul into becoming MS Dhoni on screen.
According to Arun Pandey, Sushant Singh Rajput spent nine months with former India wicket-keeper Kiran More to learn the tricks of trade, tirelessly trying to master MS Dhoni's trademark helicopter shot, and was under "enormous pressure" to deliver in his performance.
"He (Sushant Singh Rajput) was very concerned during the making of the movie about whether he would be able to live Dhoni's life on the big screen. He was under a lot pressure before the movie release (in 2016)" Pandey said.
"He use to say it often to me that 'I hope I am able to deliver, else Mahi's millions of fans will not forgive me ever'. But the hard worker that he was, I was sure that he would a fine job and he did," he added.
To do justice to the on-screen portrayal of MS Dhoni, Pandey said Sushant Singh Rajput spent months with the former cricketer to prep up for his role. The late actor's attention to detail only helped him nail his character in the film.
"One day he was practising the helicopter shot and he suffered a strain. We thought he would take some rest and comeback after a while but he said, 'There should not be any delay because of me'. He was back practising that shot in a week's time," recalled Pandey about the actor, who died in 2020.
"He used to ask a lot of questions to Mahi, the little things that make the difference. The fact they both had a Bihar connection also helped them develop a bond," he added.
MS Dhoni: The Untold Story is based on the life of former cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The film, which chronicles the life of MS Dhoni from a young age through a series of life events, also starred Anupam Kher, Rajesh Sharma, Kumud Mishra, and Bhumika Chawla.
It was re-released in July 2024 to celebrate MS Dhoni's 43rd birthday (July 7).
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