Maidaan director says he had doubts about Ajay Devgn: His image in my mind was of Singham

Maidaan stars Ajay Devgn, Priyamani, Gajraj Rao and Rudranil Ghosh in pivotal roles. It has been produced by Boney Kapoor.

Filmmaker Amit Ravindernath Sharma has revealed he had doubts about actor Ajay Devgn playing the role of Syed Abdul Rahim in their upcoming film Maidaan. Speaking with Indianexpress.com, Amit shared that the image of Ajay he had in his mind was that of Singham. However, as he narrated the script and spoke about the role, there was a visible change in Ajay's body language. Maidaan revolves around the life of Syed Abdul Rahim, who brought pride to India through football. (Also Read | Maidaan trailer: Ajay Devgn plays a tough coach in Chak De! India for football. Watch)

(L) Ajay Devgn in a still from Maidaan: actor will be seen next in Singham film.

Amit on his impression of Ajay

Amit said, “I had never worked with him before, so I had my own doubts. You build an image in your mind of an actor, and his image in my mind was of Singham. But he broke that. He would keep the stardom of Ajay Devgn outside the set. Once in, he would be Syed. His performance in the film is incredible. I’m not saying because it’s my film, but viewers will realise once they watch it." Amit recalled meeting Ajay for a narration. The actor had then asked him who was Syed for him. When Amit "started narrating his vision of the character to Ajay, he saw something shift".

Amit recalls how Ajay came on board

Amit also said, "When we started having conversations about him, I remember at one point he was standing like the way Ajay Devgn does, with swagger, and by the end of it, he was standing like Syed. Simple, slightly bent. There was no Singham, only Syed. I told him he would be wearing loose pants because you're a coach and you won't think what you're wearing. Back then the clothes were also different— pleated pants, trousers, loose shirts. An actor would usually think about how he's looking, check in the mirror if the clothes are of fitting or not. But not Ajay, he never once asked about his physical experience. He was completely on board my ideas and vision of the character. In one of the meetings I told him there were too many dialogues of him and I would chop them out because Syed would talk less. He said, 'Please go ahead, we are on the same page'."

About Maidaan

Maidaan also features Priyamani, Gajraj Rao and Rudranil Ghosh in pivotal roles. The film boasts of a musical score by AR Rahman. In 2020, producer Boney Kapoor had to dismantle the film set due to the lockdown imposed to curb the coronavirus pandemic. In May 2021, the set of Maidaan was destroyed by Cyclone Tauktae. Finally, the movie is all set to release in theatres in April 2024.

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