Versatile actor & producer Prakash Raj comes with his debut directorial venture in Dhoni. Dhoni is all about the conflict of interests between a father and his son in deciding the son’s career, also touching upon the drawbacks of the Indian educational system. Surprisingly, the third movie to do so in recent times, after Nanban and Marina!

Venkatrama Subramaniyan aka Subbu is a middle class government employee living with his two kids who struggles to earn money to provide the best education for his kids. His son Karthik is not interested in studies & loves cricket. He wants to become a cricketer like Dhoni. When Subbu's patience runs out and he takes his frustration on Karthik, his son gets a head injury and falls into a coma.

Not only does Subbu realize his mistake, he also finds mistakes with the teachers, learning method and the educational system. He starts his mission against the system which ignores the personal talents & interests of children, focusing only on scoring marks in exams. Whether he succeeds in his mission and whether his son recovers coma is the rest of Dhoni.

Prakash Raj makes his directorial debut with a meaningful & sincere script, with a very simple and realistic narration. The first half is entertaining and also emotional, resembling Director V. Shekhar's family drama movies. The entire story is told in the father's point of view, with no sequences to showcase his son's interest in cricket. Pace of the movie is the biggest drawback, with the second half being extremely slow and stretchy. Characterization and casting are perfect. Tha. Se. Gnanvel's dialogues are appreciable, though the conversation in the Neeya Naana program could have been penned better.

Prakash Raj perfectly fits into his role as a middle class father. Dhoni is his one-man show with an awesome performance. Akash Puri plays as Prakash Raj's son and does well. Radhika Aapte also delivers a very neat performance. Bollywood actor Murali Sharma impresses everyone with his casual acting. Director Samuthikkani's voice for Murali Sharma is perfect and adds strength to his character. Nasser and Brahmanandham have done their part well.

Illayaraja's background score is average. Except for the Vaangum Panathukkum song, the others are all average. The picturization of the song with Prabhu Deva's cameo is excellent and also is one of the highlights of the film. Cinematography by K V Guhan & Te Kishore's Editing are perfect.

If only had Director Prakash Raj presented the second half better, Dhoni would have joined the critically & commercially acclaimed movies such as Mozhi & Payanam. Dhoni might disappoint commercial & masala movie lovers for this reason. However, it is a wonderful movie in terms of its script, subject and overall execution. A Must Watch, especially for every Indian parent and teacher!