Never Ending Movie Carnival
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Maidaan : Hip Hip Hurray – what makes Ajay Devgn and his soccer band of boys the most accomplished and finest sports drama ever made in Bollywood.
Maidaan – the sports drama directed by Amit Ravindernath Sharma sees the invincible dark horse of Hindi cinema – Ajay Devgn and his soccer band of boys scorch the field on fire in this interplay of spirit, drama, emotions, and resilience.
What makes Maidaan the the most accomplished and finest sports drama ever made in Bollywood.
1952, Helsinki Olympics. Team India, playing bare feet, gets badly thrashed by Yugoslavia in the soccer match registering a 1-10 loss. While the Indian Reginald newspaper headlines this as a shameful loss, the Indian Football federation blames the coach, S A Rahim (played by Ajay Devgn). At this point, Rahim retorts, why blame the roof when the foundation is weak! One of the Federation Members, Anjan Da (Baharul Islam, theatre actor) is quite supportive of him.
What begins is Rahim’s nationwide scouting of efficient players for the next Olympics. Rahim travels from north to south to gather a squad of underdogs – from the slums of Secundrabad(Andhra Pradesh) to corners of Kerala to the tabbars of Punjab and barracks of Bengal, much to the dismay of the Federation’s president Subhankar Da(Rudranil Ghosh) and the influential sports journalist, B C Roy Chaudhary( played by the terrific Gajraj Rao) who misinterpret Rahim’s conviction as his arrogance and see a diminishing pie of Bengal players in the team.
Helmed by Amit Ravindernath Sharma who made the award-winning film Badhai Ho in 2018, Maidaan, with a litany of woes surrounding its release, chronicles the story of the Indian Football Team Coach and the team’s fate at the Olympics and Asian Games in a period spanning 10 years, from 1952 to 1962. Marked by a terrific period recreation and visuals, the first hour of the film witnesses Rahim’s arduous journey in assembling the rag-tag team which has the prowess to kickstart the golden era of football, the array of hostilities he meets on his way – bureaucracy, politics, and favouritism and a short glance at his family – his wife, Saira( Priya Mani) , his daughter and his son , Hakim who also aspires to be a soccer player.
In a chronological fashion, Maidaan carves Team India’s stint at the Melbourne and the Rome Olympics, earning the Brazil of Asia tag but collapsing with the dismissal of Rahim as the Coach. And then follows his comeback, albeit with a grievous medical condition.
Amit Sharma and his team of writers – Akash Chawla, Arunav Joy Sengupta and Saiwyn Quadras articulate a fluid narrative from the real historic events that encompasses team spirit, team building, game strategies and a rousing interplay of drama and emotions. But at the crest, lies its immaculate sports choreography amplified by a raging background score. Fyodor Lyass’s camera especially snoops into all possible angles that we have hardly witnessed in any film belonging to the sports genre. The writing is infused with depth and emotions are threaded seamlessly into the rage and adrenaline-fuelled matches that India plays against South Korea, France, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand.
In any sports drama, the template is the same – it’s a predictable underdog forging a chest-swelling victory in the foreign land. Where Maidaan scores is in its execution and attention to details, its length, and the breadth. Though the film’s running time is a tad long, crossing 180 minutes, I was overwhelmed with the flush of emotions that arrested my psyche – While my heart wept at certain scenes, I was equally in search of a hanky as S A Rahim was, for his ailment.
Ajay Devgn is understated for most parts and that’s what his character demanded for. Relying on his brooding eyes and knack for brevity, his emphasis on “EK” that he imparts to the team before they embark on the final match shadows Shah Rukh’s verbosity and overt dramatism in the Sattar minute scene of Chak DE! India. The actor must have fagged fifty cigarettes, but he humanizes SA Rahim with vulnerability and resilience and an everyday common man saddled with common family woes. In the first hour, he looks at least 15 years younger with a fresh face and a grounded sartorial elegance, resonating with the costumes of that period.
Priya Mani justifies her part as the housewife – supporting Rahim during his hour of crisis and difficult times.
I hated Gajraj Rao’s character, Roy Chaudhary for the extreme and perpetual villainy exhibited. One guy remarks, BC can make and break governments – that’s the triumph of the actor who is so unmistakable in his approach and antagonizing a press person who wants to control the board. The actors emulating PK Banerjee, Chuni, Jarnail Singh, Arun Goswami, Peter Thangaraj Franco and others bleed and sweat on the field, displaying intense rigour and a do-or-die dichotomy.
Being a discerning film critic, I tried to deduct a few decimals from my rating, but failed. Maidan is by far the most accomplished and finest sports drama ever made in Bollywood.
It’s a Hip Hip Hurray moment for Devgn and his soccer band of boys scorch the field on fire in this interplay of spirit, drama, emotions, and resilience.
It deserves a 5 out of 5 and your 3 hours.
Ahwaan Padhee, is an IT Techie/Business Consultant by profession and a film critic/cinephile by passion, is also associated with Radio Playback as well, loves writing and conducting movie quizzes. More By Ahwaan Padhee