Since director Neeraj Pandey announced that he’ll be making 'M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story' a biopic on the life and times of Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, all people wanted to know who’ll play him on screen. Once Sushant Singh Rajput was zeroed in, a lot of eyebrows were raised. But the promos and trailer of the film made us believe it was the right choice. Once the film gets released there are bound to be comparisons between the two. After digging into the lives of real M.S. Dhoni and reel M.S. Dhoni which is Sushant Singh, one comes across a few striking similarities in both which leaves one amazed. So, what are those similarities, let’s take a look at them.
Background
To begin with Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sushant Singh Rajput hailed from similar backgrounds. Both started off in a small town and later moved to bigger cities. Belonging to a middle-class Rajput family, Dhoni and Sushant’s respective fathers were government employees who dreamt of their son’s also taking up government jobs before they settled down in life.
Formal Relationship With Father
Dhoni as well as Sushant shared a formal relationship with their respective fathers who dreamt of seeing their sons taking up government jobs to lead a secured future. But both had different plans up their sleeves and took up their passion as their profession which led to Dhoni taking up cricket and Sushant taking up professional acting.
A Rebel Of Sorts
Dhoni and Sushant broke the shackles to pursue their respective passion. Though their respective fathers didn’t approve of their idea of profession, they both battled against all odds to make their decision count. As part of middle-class upbringing both the fathers lectured them on several issues as acting and cricket are two professions in India where there’s huge competition and one seldom meets with luck or success.
Sister’s Inspiration And Support
With family members displaying their disappointment towards Dhoni and Sushant, their sisters came in support of them and inspired both to follow their passion. Dhoni’s sister, Jayanti Gupta had supported him while he failed to convince his father. On the other hand, Sushant’s sister, Mitu Singh who was a state-level cricketer wholeheartedly supported Sushant to take up a career in acting.
College Drop Out
Though Dhoni and Sushant both were good at academics but both were focused on making their respective dreams a reality. Sushant was studying Mechanical Engineering at the Delhi College of Engineering and dropped out after completing his third year whereas Dhoni had just completed his intermediate and wanted to join St. Xavier’s College in Ranchi but couldn’t because of cricket.
Followed Their Passion
Both were passionate about making their dreams a reality since their childhood. They overcame all obstacles to pursue their talent with limited support from their families. Despite knowing the journey of success is not going to be easy they followed their passion and strive to make it big on the sheer belief that they had it in them.
Came Up The Ranks
Both knew the road to success isn’t going to be easy. Dhoni started off by playing school and club cricket matches initially before graduating to the state or Ranji level. His sheer performance with the bat, and gloves behind the stumps got him noticed by the national selectors. Sushant too similarly started off by joining Shiamak Davar’s dance group and playing small roles on TV before bagging the lead in ‘Pavitra Rishta’ and then getting his first big break on the silver screen with ‘Kai Po Che!’.
Had A Relationship During His Struggling Days
Co-incidentally Dhoni dated Priyanka Jha, his girl-friend during his struggling days when he was trying to get a foothold in the Indian cricket team but lost her in an accident in 2002 which led him to marry Sakshi Singh Rawat, later. Sushant too dated and reportedly had a live-in relationship with his ‘Pavitra Rishta’ co-star, Ankita Lokhande. Unfortunately, the relationship didn’t go the distance as they broke up a year ago.
