Maidan producers had created Rs 7 cr stadium for shoot, set will have to be recreated if lockdown continues till it rains: report

While Ajay Devgn and crew were set to begin shooting from March 21, the stadium had been turned into a film set with toilets and make-up rooms etc.

Makers of Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn’s Maidan may have to incur major losses as they had an entire stadium readied for the shooting of climax scenes in the movie. A stadium, in the western suburb of Mumbai, had been turned into a film set, at a reported cost of Rs 7 crore, to film the football sequences for the drama, starting March 21 with around 100 crew members.

Ajay Devgn in a poster of Maidan.

A Mid Day report has claimed producers of Maidan are in for a major loss as they had rented over a dozen acres of the plot for two months but the shoot was called off on March 16, in the wake of the industry shutdown

It also quoted a source as saying, “Amit R Sharma [director] was to shoot the last schedule, which focused on all the football matches that will be shown in the film. The set was complete with toilets, make-up rooms and a PCR [production control room] in place. With the set standing unused, there will be a considerable financial setback. If exposed to rains (in case the lockdown is extended beyond May 3), the set will need a complete overhaul. Plus, the schedule requires foreign actors and technicians. Their availability will depend on the condition in their countries. Coordinating everything will be a logistical nightmare.”

About the film, producer Boney Kapoor had earlier told Hindustan Times in an interview, “The players on the ground are a comparatively new lot. Some of them are football players. They have been trained in the game for the last six months and have now become good footballers. We will be shooting in Kolkata also, as it is the main hub of football and the state has a history attached to it.”

Maidan is directed by Amit Ravindranath Sharma of Badhai Ho fame and has been produced by Boney, Akash Chawla and Arunava Roy Sengupta with Zee Studios as presenters. It also stars national award winning actor Keerthi Suresh, Badhai Ho actor Gajraj Rao, Nitanshi Goel, Boman Irani and Johnny Lever.

Mary Kom and Neerja writer Saiwayn Quadras had done the screenplay while Pink writer Ritesh Shah has written its dialogues.

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