Maidaan

Maidaan Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Ajay Devgn, Gajraj Rao, Priyamani, Rudranil Ghosh, Chaitanya Sharma

Director: Amit Sharma

What’s Good: The match sequences that keep you engrossed

What’s Bad: The sluggish first half

Loo Break: It’s a 3-hour long movie, you can take in the first half or interval. The second half needs your complete attention!

Watch or Not?: Love football? Yes! Want to watch a well-made sports drama? YES

Language: Hindi

Available On: Theatrical release

Runtime: 181 Minutes

User Rating:

It’s a story about coach Syed Abdul Rahim and his determination to build a brilliant Indian Football team and win a gold medal. The story starts in 1952 when the Indian team loses the game, and the players are injured as they play barefoot. Syed not only makes sure he brings together exceptional players from all over India but also makes them play with good shoes and bring gold home. He does all this while fighting the system and internal battles.

Maidaan Movie Review: Script Analysis

Saiyan Quadras, Aman Rai, Atul Shahi, Ritesh Shah, Siddhant Mago and director Amit Sharma have written the screenplay for Maidaan. The movie has a slow start, although the game pieces and the discussions between Syed and the Football committee keep you greatly interested. The first half is a build-up to help us understand the state of football in the country back then, how Syed Abdul Rahim gathered solid players, and the politics in the committee. We also get a glimpse of his family life. He’s a loving husband and a father, yet, football is where his heart lies the most.

The slow-paced first half sometimes makes you impatient as the story doesn’t progress much. Ajay Devgn, as Syed Abdul Rahim, doesn’t say or emote much in the first half, until the last 15 minutes when the first major twist arrives. It changes the course of the story & Syed’s life completely. Maidaan becomes an exhilarating watch in the entire second half. We finally see some emotion in Syed, who’s not only pressured with getting gold for India with his team but is also fighting a major personal battle.

What makes the second half such a brilliant watch is the overall winsome spirit it packs most of the time. The best part is the football match sequences. The emotions, thrills and jitters you get while watching these match scenes in the movie are similar to watching a live one on TV. You cheer and clap every time Team India makes a goal. The film ends on a high sentimental note and stays with you even when you leave the theatre after watching the movie.

Maidaan Movie Review: Star Performance

Ajay Devgn shines in the second half as Syed Abdul Rahim. The character doesn’t say much in the first half, unless he has to retaliate to those doubting his and his team’s skills. But it’s the second half where Ajay delivers an impactful performance where we see the hunger for victory and pain in his eyes. As a coach, Ajay doesn’t give his team long motivational speeches to play their game right. I wonder if the makers made the decision consciously to avoid comparisons with Shah Rukh Khan in Chak De! India or Syed was really a man of few words.

Gajraj Rao’s character irked me in the first half because it came off a bit caricaturish and unnecessary. However, the second half makes it meaningful and necessary in the story. Rao delivers an amazing performance with his wickedness and the transition that he goes through. Priyamani plays Syra Rahim, Abdul Rahim’s wife, and she brings a moment of endearment to the story. The actress is fantastic at speaking broken English, feels shy around her man, and knows when to speak up when something doesn’t seem right.

The rest of the cast – Chaitanya Sharma, Amartya Ray, Tejas Ravishankar, Aaman Munshi, Davinder Gill and others who played football players are remarkable. They don’t speak much, but hold our attention thoroughly with their game.