Roar of the Lion first impression: A whistle podu experience for all MS Dhoni fans

Divided into three chapters – Before the Storm, Separation and Born Again, the first episode gives a glimpse of the collaboration or in Dhoni’s words, the ‘arranged marriage’ between him and the Chennai team. As team owner N Srinivasan states, Dhoni became a part of Chennai and its people. “He would go around on his bike, flaunting his long hair. It was something new but the people related to him and he became their own. He was the ‘thalaiva’ on the field,” Srinivasan shares.

As readers would know, Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan was accused of spot-fixing. Dhoni clarifies that Guru was part of the team but at what capacity, was debatable. He shares that for them he was not the owner but the owner’s son-in-law. It is heartening to see when he states that they did deserve punishment but the quantum was too harsh. He questions, “You tend to take it personally. The team did no wrong. Why did we need to go through this?”

Apart from MS Dhoni, other key players like Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Shane Watson, Mohit Sharma and coaches Mathew Hayden and Michael Hussey also make appearances. Writer-journalist Ayaz Memon and many fans give an outsiders’ perspective on the turn of events.

It is Dhoni’s tale to tell and the ‘captain cool’ does bare it all. Someone who is known to be media shy and introvert doesn’t shy away from pouring out his feelings. From mouthing heavyweight dialogues like, “the biggest crime that I can do is not murder but match-fixing” to sharing “naam mera bhi uchla tha” (my name also got dragged), Dhoni’s story of the rise, fall and fight back will definitely make the audience emotional. As Ayaz Memon puts it, “Dhoni was the conscience of the CSK team. And when his name came in the controversy, it was shocking for all.”

After the painful voyage of 18-odd minutes, the last part celebrates the comeback of the team. Visuals of fans celebrating the return and eventually the victory last year are as thrilling as the IPL matches. It is interesting to know that the CSK team was called the “dad’s army” as the players’ average age was 33-34 years. Dhoni states, “What was important was that we should have the confidence to live up to the expectations of our owners and fans.” The sneak peek to the next episode shows Dhoni in tears talking about the team’s comeback in an internal meeting. He ends the conversation by saying “performance is not guaranteed but the effort is.”

In an emotional moment Dhoni says that he is what he is only because of cricket, he will never let anything come in between him and the game. “I will never want people to lose interest and trust on cricket,” shares the CSK captain.

MS Dhoni: The Untold Story may have depicted captain cool’s life but the series portrays emotions that one may have just assumed. But only the upcoming episodes will reveal if the show, as assured, will only celebrate the resilient human spirit or whitewash the controversy. Also, with IPL just around the corner, this would definitely also help Dhoni and co. strike an emotional chord with the audience.

While cricket is watched in all households, the technicalities used by the cricketers is a little overwhelming. As I, for once, had to google ‘right to match’, a term that the team used while talking about Dwayne Bravo’s auction. Also, the Hindi dubbing is of very poor quality and leaves a bad taste. All CSK supporters, before you book your tickets to watch the next IPL match, Roar of the Lion will definitely make for a good rewind.