Ajay Devgn is a director’s actor, says ‘Maidaan’ director Amit Sharma

Mumbai: Working with a superstar is only an advantage, says Amit Sharma about his “Maidaan” leading actor Ajay Devgn, who surrendered completely to the director's vision.

The filmmaker, best known for the 2018 blockbuster hit “Badhaai Ho”, has teamed up with Devgn for the upcoming period sports drama which explores the golden years of Indian football in the early 1950s and 60s under coach Syed Abdul Rahim.

Sharma praised Devgn, who plays the role of Rahim in the film, for his commitment to "Maidaan".

“If a superstar has agreed to do a film, it’s an advantage as the mounting of a film will become bigger. You’ll be able to shoot the way you want to, and if the superstar is ready to give you everything while making the film, then it’s icing on the cake.

“When Ajay Devgn used to enter the sets, he used to keep the Ajay Devgn persona outside, and enter like Syed Abdul Rahim, his character. He came prepped on sets with his dialogues. Not once he said, ‘The trousers are loose, how am I looking?’ He would be like, ‘Tell me what you want me to do, I'll do it’. He is a director’s actor,” the director told PTI in an interview here.

Sharma said there are three ingredients essential for a sports-based film: knowledge about the sport, correct team, and getting the emotion right.

“For me, the story was not about football but about Syed Abdul Rahim, who brought glory to India. I’m telling the story of this unsung hero, who fought for the country, not at the borders but on a maidaan (ground).

“He didn’t capture Tiger Hill (a subject of a battle during the 1999 Kargil War) but he won the Asian Games,” he said about Rahim under whose stewardship, the India national football team won gold medals in Asian Games of 1951 and 1962.

A section of social media users have drawn parallels between "Maidaan" and the 2007 hit "Chak De! India", which followed a former hockey player (Shah Rukh Khan) who attempts to redeem himself by coaching and eventually, leading the Indian national women's hockey team to a win.

According to Sharma, the two films are different from one another.

“The difference between ‘Chak De! India’ and ‘Maidaan’ is that while it was a fictional story, this is a true story. If you talk about the dream of a man who is trying to bring glory to India through sports, that emotion is the same. But everyone will have the same emotion, it is there in ’83’ as well.

“The emotion is same, but the story and style are different. This story is different from ‘Chak De! India’ because the sports are different, however emotion wise it is the same, but the emotional journey of this person is different, the story is different.” “Maidaan” faced many challenges during its making, including the multiple delays owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and cyclone Tauktae, and Sharma said these crises were beyond his control.

“I kept thinking how to make things in a way that we complete the film in the best possible way. I kept my cool, and I’ve learnt to be more patient,” he added.

Also starring Priyamani, Gajraj Rao, and Rudranil Ghosh, “Maidaan” will be released in theatres on the festive occasion of Eid on Wednesday.

The film is produced by Zee Studios, Boney Kapoor, Arunava Joy Sengupta and Akash Chawla.