Few Indian cricketers, both contemporary and in the past, can boast of a following that former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has. He may, arguably, be the most-loved Indian cricketer, after, of course, Sachin Tendulkar. Dhoni's legion of fans worship him, and follow every update about their idol religiously.
So, when a biopic on the World Cup-winning skipper was to be made, one can imagine the pressure director Neeraj Pandey would have felt. But the real burden was on the shoulders of the young but immensely talented Sushant Singh Rajput, who was to portray the great MSD.
Rajput had a brush with cricket on screen earlier in Kai Po Che!, but this was a different ball game altogether. So, Pandey and Dhoni got in touch with one of India's best wicketkeeper batsmen, and former chief selector, Kiran More, to train Rajput.
More is yet to come to terms with the untimely death of the 34-year-old actor, who was found hanging in his Bandra house this morning. He had taken to Twitter earlier to express his grief. “It is a shocking moment for me personally, @itsSSR was someone whom I trained for the role as @msdhoni. I don't know how I or anyone who knows him will be able to recover from this shock, gone too soon my friend #SushantSinghRajput #RIPSushant.”
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Recalling his association with Rajput while training him for M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, More told THE WEEK, “We trained for nine months in Mumbai. I trained him like an actual cricketer. I looked at him as a cricketer, not an actor.”
“Brilliant. Outstanding”. This was how More described Rajput's response to his training over the months. He was as impressed with the actor's cricketing knowledge as he was with his dedication and passion. “He knew the game well. He worked very hard, both on his cricket and his fitness. He used to hit around 300 balls every day, and would face real bowlers in the nets, be it pacers or spinners.”
The film showed Dhoni's rise from a small town boy from Ranchi to the legend he is today. Which meant Rajput had to portray MSD in various stages of the latter's life. “If you see the movie, there's a young Dhoni and then there's the stronger, muscular Dhoni who played for India. So, Sushant had to lose weight and then put on weight,” More said.
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But, the bigger task for Rajput was to copy Dhoni's batting style, gait and mannerisms. In fact, it was one of the highlights of the film. Of course, CGI helped in real-match footage, but viewers were mightily impressed by the near-perfect portrayal of Dhoni by Rajput in the film. “He had to bat like Dhoni. And keep wickets, too. Keeping wickets isn't easy. Even Sachin Tendulkar will find it difficult to keep wickets, and it will show. So, for an actor to do both....
More admitted it was tough initially for both him and Rajput. “The first month was tough. But then he got used to the training and improved greatly. We used to set new challenges for him every day.
“We worked on his running between the wickets, his Dhoni-like stance and grip. Sushant had a different grip.”
If there was one thing Rajput had to get absolutely right about Dhoni, it was his famous helicopter shot. “We worked on it for almost three months. And finally one day, Rajput got the helicopter shot right. He practised it every day in the nets with the bowling machine first, and then even real bowlers,” More said.
Years later, More and Rajput met in Hyderabad during the 2019 IPL final between Mumbai Indians and (Dhoni-led) Chennai Super Kings, which the former won by one run. “He was in the Chennai stand and I was in Mumbai stand. We met on the ground. He loved his cricket,” More said.
The former chief selector wasn't just impressed with Rajput's cricket and academics (Sushant was a rank holder in engineering entrance exam, but dropped out in his last year at college to pursue acting), but also his humility and attitude towards life. “Sushant was very hard-working and knew what he was doing. He was very passionate and ambitious. He always used to say how he struggled to become an actor after coming to Mumbai. And the chaiwala he used to frequent for breakfast. Even after he became a superstar, he went and met the chaiwala.”
More and Rajput shared a great professional relationship during the film, and became good friends later. “Sushant was such a down-to-earth guy, and a very nice and happy-go-lucky person. It's (his death) is a shock.”
