Had to be a graph: Sushant Singh Rajput talks about MS Dhoni: The Untold Story!

Sushant Singh Rajput almost looks identical to Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the teaser posters launched over the last one week. The actor who's given his heart and soul to this film will finally unveil the first teaser promo of MS Dhoni: The Untold Story today (March 15). Ahead of the unveiling, we get talking with Sushant where he tells us what it took for him to turn Dhoni on screen and why he doesn't care about everyone's opinions on him. 

Most biopics on sportsmen feature a lot on the profession. How much of Dhoni's personal life will be shown in this film?
See first of all I feel that you should not make a biopic on someone just because he or she is famous or just because the sport he/she plays is popular. There has to be a great, entertaining, compelling story of the person . So when you tell a story like that then you talk about everything, personal and professional lives and you stay true to that.

Farhan said that although he had researched a lot, he got to know many more things about Milkha once he started Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. Did the same happen to you?
I think this is why an actor should do a film. I research a lot to find everything that my character is not. Once the perimeter is set, I explore while shooting the film and I get to know many things about my character while shooting. Same happened with this film as well. 

What according to you sets Dhoni apart from other biopics?
His story is different from all the stories. The sheer length of his graph is enormous. And the fact that he is the most famous, loved, successful skipper and not many know his back story which is extremely compelling.

You have trained for about 8 months for Dhoni...
(Cuts in) No, 11 months! 

Tell us more about it..
Well to work on the script, convincing yourself that you are the character, cultivating cricketing skills to a professional level I think this much time was required.

Did you hurt yourself while training?
Ohh! Like how! Many bruises, fractured my ribs, twisted my ankle, broken my fingers... Shall I continue? (Smiles) But I absolutely loved it! 

How long did you take to just learn the sport?
First, I learnt just cricket, how to play the sport like a professional. That was what I started off with. Then I learnt Dhoni’s style of cricket. He plays it slightly differently. So I had to grab that and then obviously, there were other nuances, of course! 

Have you mastered his helicopter shot already?
I am not being pompous but now, I can actually hit the ball really hard. I have played cricket but this was different. I had to be really good at it. And obviously, if you are making a film on Dhoni, you can’t not learn the helicopter shot. So I trained in that as well. People have watched me and told me that it’s great. I hope that translates on screen as well. 

Did Dhoni teach you some shots?
No, he didn’t but he saw the videos. And I won’t tell you what he told me. (Smiles)
 
Dhoni is still playing. Isn’t it too early to make a biopic on him?
Why would it be early? I can make a film on a 7 year old who’s done something really extraordinary. So this doesn’t count. When we are telling a story about someone’s life, there has to be a length. And that length starts from point A to point B. And it cannot be a straight line between the two points, it has to be a graph. There’s something to tell and that’s why we are making the film. It’s not just because he’s famous. 

Will the Indian cricket team be a part of the film? 
It’s going to be the biggest surprise for everyone. For this, you can take my word and hold me if it doesn’t happen, you will be like shockingly surprised. But if I tell you now, it won’t remain a surprise anymore. 

Cricket is the most celebrated sport in India but when it comes to biopics on cricketers, there has been none. Do you think filmmakers didn’t opt for one because it would sound too clichéd?
I don’t know about others. But you have to have some story to tell. It’s not about cricketers, it’s about one person who plays cricket. And this time coincidentally, there are two biopics on two persons from two different decades with different stories coming out in the same year. The only similarity between the two is the sport. Nothing else is actually the same. 

But comparisons with Azhar are bound to happen…
I am not concerned at all. See, there are two things. One- if all the movies that I do get appreciated, I get very excited. All the hard work pays off. Number one payback is me being satisfied by what I did in the film. Second is the appreciation from the audience. That’s an added thing. Someone goes to the theatre, invested some 200-300 rupees on my film and is happy. Third, is now the next one I do, I will have the power to choose my film and also get paid more. If the second and third don’t happen, it doesn’t mean that I will be really affected. The first thing is very important. There’s no purpose or agenda but it’s convenient for me and acting is something that gets me excited. There’s nothing else to it because it’s not like I have to be the best actor here someday. Nothing. I just like doing it. Otherwise, I can do many other things to support the way I live but it will be boring. This is exciting and that’s it. There’s nothing else to it and I don’t have to prove a point to anybody. Nobody else. If nothing happens, I will make my own film and I will watch it. I won’t put it somewhere where everybody will not get to see it and I will still be happy. If people like it, I will be happy and excited for sure. If they don’t, I am not affected.

The film was supposed to release last year. Do you think the delay will affect the film in any way? 
At this point of time, I don’t want to get into that because he is still playing and there are so many formalities that need to be done. It’s not like that you have worked hard for six months so you are absolutely ready for it. Almost everybody has a visual reference. So almost everybody has an opinion. For me as an actor, one thing that I always wanted to do was to convince myself first. That’s the only thing I am concerned about. It should be that okay, these are the lines I will say in the film and I should believe in them. And this is the way I will behave because this is who I am. But at the same time, I was also trying to go outside in because there is the set outside. Doing it so many times, it becomes a part of you. It’s not just the body language or the pauses, it’s how you play cricket which is not just batting or keeping. It’s the way you are on the field and trust me, it’s tough.