Akshay Kumar wouldn't have worked as MS Dhoni: Neeraj Pandey

Rustom producer Neeraj Pandey, who has earlier worked with Akshay Kumar, said it was impossible to cast his favourite actor as cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the biopic M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story.

"It was not possible for Akshay to play a 16-17-year-old teenager in the movie as Dhoni's younger version. So I didn't cast him as MS Dhoni," director Pandey said in an interview on Friday.

He praised highly actor Sushant Singh Rajput saying that "he is a very good actor". "Sushant reads the script very sincerely. He also picked the body language right".

The director also said that he enjoys making patriotic movies and especially because of the good box-office response he would continue doing so.

"MS Dhoni is also a patriotic film in its own way. It also speaks against corruption," said the maker of films like Baby and A Wednesday.

His research team had worked extensively by meeting Dhoni's friends, family, coaches and also officials who have worked with Dhoni in Kharagpur.

On being asked how cricketer Yuvraj Singh was shown in the family, Pandey said Singh would like it. "We don't want to hurt someone. It's a clean movie and Yuvraj Singh will definitely love it. You don't become big by hurting someone," the maker expressed.

The director also cleared that his film is beyond just cricket. "The story of MS Dhoni is not just about cricket. It is his journey. If you are having a dream you can chase it and achieve it".

After several patriotic movies it will be Pandey's first venture into a biopic.