~*Sushant's Bollywood Journey#19*~ - Page 66

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KHARAGPUR: Pujas over, Kharagpur town is now agog with action of another kind. A lot of excitement has been generated over a Bollywood film shoot that started on Sunday morning. Kharagpur had been waiting with bated breath for this ever since director Neeraj Pandey had announced in June that he would shoot a film on the life of cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who spent part of his life working in Kharagpur.

The film has been christened, M S Dhoni - The Untold Story and Sushant Singh Rajput who shot to fame with his performance in Kaipoche, is playing the lead. Both Pandey and Rajput, along with a bevy of artistes started shooting on Sunday morning and this will go on continuously for the next five days, spanning many spots all over the town. The director has zeroed in on Satyaprakash Krishna, who is a TTE of the South Eastern Railway posted at Kharagpur to help them select the spots since he is Dhoni's friend since the latter's days in Kharagpur.

Dhoni spent four years between 2001 and 2004 as TTE at Kharagpur. He used to play Ranji trophy level cricket from Jharkhand which got him the railway job here. It was at this time that he became close to Krishna who also played Ranji level cricket from Jharkhand. The two would spend time practicing at Kharagpur's famed Sersa stadium, when Dhoni was especially spotted by the then divisional railway manager, Animesh Kumar Ganguly. It was Ganguly who egged Dhoni on to practice more and ensured that he excels in the game. Dhoni left Kharagpur in 2004 finally, when he got selected to play test cricket for India against Bangladesh. Kharagpur has been eagerly waiting for him to return since, albeit for a short visit.

Krishna is helping Pandey to identify the spots that were frequented by Dhoni during his stay here. "Not only have I shown him the spot in the office where he used to sit but also the places where he would stand with his coat on to collect tickets. I have taken them to Potarpuli where Dhoni lived in the railway quarters. There were several chai stalls where Dhoni loved to have his tea and snacks. Infact, there was a mashi whom Dhoni would chat up everyday, while sipping tea at her stall. I think he still owes her some Rs 15! Then there was this other stall where he used to stop by for his favourite idli-dosa...those were different times, you see," Krishna laughed.

The entire film crew is putting up at the railway guest house at Kharagpur and the first day's shoot happened at the DRM office, railway station, TTE cell etc amid heavy security. SER spokesperson, Sanjoy Ghosh said that director Pandey had sought permission to shoot the film at several railway owned locations which have been given to him.

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