Maidaan Review: The story of a player or the unique tale of a coach. Sports drama movies usually leave you filled with excitement and enthusiasm. The film 'Maidan', directed by Amit Sharma, gives you the same feeling that you would have got from films like 'Chak De India' and 'MS Dhoni - The Untold Story'. Ajay Devgan starrer, this film is a beautifully made in-depth biographical film. The film tells the story of India's golden age in the 1950s and 1960s. The story of film tells the story of coach Syed Abdul Rahim, who had only one goal in life... to build a winning team and put Indian football on the world map.
How is Ajay Devgan's film Maidaan?
In the film, you get the real feel of an exciting match which makes you bite your fingers. Shahrukh Khan's last 70-minute speech in the film 'Chak De India' is seen being replaced by Ajay Devgan's enthusiastic speech. When Ajay Devgan breathes life into his team and says "11 to enter the match but one to appear". There is another scene in which Ajay Devgan arrives to visit the stadium before the final match. Ajay Devgan's face behind the water splashes here will also remind you of 'Chak De India'. Despite you keep comparing this film with other sports drama films, you hardly get a chance to complain about this film anywhere.
The film 83, based on the first World Cup victory of the Indian cricket team in the year 1983, may have been made with excellent acting and amazing prosthetics, but at some places in that film, you feel a lack of depth in the storytelling. The good thing is that nothing like this is visible anywhere along the 'Maidan'. Taking lessons from previous films, the film has been composed in such a way that you have no complaints with its run time of 3 hours 1 minute. Amit Sharma has given time to every character without hurrying.
What is the story of the film 'Maidan'?
The film tells the story of Coach Rahim's contribution to Indian football. After a shameful defeat in the Summer Olympics held in Finland in 1952, Syed Abdul Rahim returned with the determination to make Indian football win in the Olympics and Asian Games. He appeals to the Federation to allow him to choose his team. After wandering every nook and corner of the country, Rahim selects the best boys and trains them himself. His focus is on legwork as well as teamwork. Under Rahim's guidance, the team wins 'Brazil of Asia' and 'Team of comebacks'. We see Rahim's life as a dedicated coach and family man.
Rahim's victory and defeat were shown equally
Despite the politics going on within the system and Indian football being repeatedly vilified in the media, Rahim decides not to lay down his arms and continues his fight. Despite facing difficulties and stumbling on the professional and personal front, he remains firm and comes back with double the energy. The film 'Maidan' shows Rahim's victory and defeat equally. The film shows what challenges he faced and what difficulties he overcame to give India the much-needed title at that time. So much emotion has been put into this character that at times we cannot stop our eyes from getting moist.
As if a live match is going on on the big screen
Even though you may remember 'Chak De India' during the film, you can clearly see the presence of Ajay Devgan and his work during the film. The film forces you to stay with the film even while remembering the stories of the previous films. Knowing that you are watching a movie. You get the feel of watching live football on the big screen. There is a dialogue in the film – Do not speak ill of what you do not understand. Therefore, it would be better if nothing is said about the football played on screen, but the kind of camera work done forces you to get up from your chair. Especially the tension of the last 30 minutes is clearly felt. The work on VFX and other finer things is also praiseworthy.