No film before retirement: BCCI puts plans of biopic on MS Dhoni on hold - reports

No film on MS Dhoni yet – BCCI

A film which was being planned on the life of World Cup winning Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni will now have to wait till his retirement to turn into a reality.

Dhoni had earlier given permission to director Neeraj Pandey, of A Wednesday fame, to make a biopic on his life, with rumours abuzz that India’s most successful ODI captain had demanded Rs. 40 crore for the rights to make a film on his life.

Actor Sushant Singh Rajput was reportedly in line to portray the 33-year old on the screen and even had long discussions with Dhoni on the matter.

But before the plans could materialise, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) stepped in and told Dhoni, in no uncertain terms, that such a film cannot be made before his retirement.

"MSD has no choice but to comply," a friend of Dhoni, who is well-informed on the development, told Times of India. He added that the Rs 40 crore-demand had taken the proposed film's budget to over Rs 100 crore.

"To begin with, it was not a commercially viable project because a sports drama, even on a game as popular as cricket, has a niche audience. But the real roadblock came from BCCI. If we do go ahead with the film it will only happen after MSD's career on the field has come to an end," he added.