Maidaan Review: Ajay Devgn Delivers Near Faultless Performance In Syed Abdul Rahim Biopic

The first frame of Maidaan, opens with the 1952 Olympics in Finland. India loses a crucial win to Yugoslavia by 9 goals. 'SHAME!', callously splashed across the papers gives way to echoes of disdain. The Amit Sharma directorial, despite its shortcomings, aptly captures how passion for a sport does not even loosely translate to a true understanding of what it takes to submit you body, life and spirit to a game. For this and other reasons too, Maidaan is a 'class act'.

Hot take

Maidaan is a love letter to football, packaged in film reels. This perhaps, is an apt allegory for the now deceased Indian football coach, Syed Abdul Rahim's life. Ajay Devgn is near faultless in his portrayal of the coaching legend. The same however, cannot be said about about the presentation of the story.

Does Maidaan live up to the hype?

The principal photography of the film having commenced back in 2019, stood significantly delayed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as it goes in the business of films, the longer and tenser the runup to the release, more inflated are the expectations that follow.

Maidaan then, five years in the making, sadly, is not the Lagaan of football.

Ajay Devgn: Take a bow

Ajay Devgn has never really indulged in the practices surrounding Bollywood's templated version of stardom, always maintaining an aloof yet strongly grounded public persona. This essence, is exactly what translates through as he assumes the role of Syed Abdul Rahim. Devgn's Rahim is given no crutches with which he can win over the audience - a grand entry, machismo, smooth dialogues - none of it finds a place in Maidaan.

Despite this, the sheer attention and immediate respect the actor commands in every frame is remarkable. Devgn's work across the three-hour plus runtime of the film is made up of strong glances, moments of reflective silence and a steely resolve that tears through the screen to reach the audience.

This very balance that Devgn strikes, allows some faces from the 18-men strong team to command attention. Chaitanya Sharma as striker Pradeep Kumar Banerjee and Amartya Ray as winger Chuni Goswami leave quite the impact. Priyamani essays the role of coach Rahim's wife, Saira and makes the best of her limited screen time, amply propping up Devgn's Rahim.

The national identity versus state solidarity dynamic is skillfully developed

The biggest antagonist in Maidaan is the very real and persisting struggle of realising how state identity constructivism can never come before national identity. This struggle is personified by media honcho Roy Chaudhary (essayed by Gajraj Rao) and All India Football Federation member Shubhankar (essayed by Rudranil Sharma). An ardent dislike for Rahim coupled with an almost agenda-like need to place Bengal's interests in football over the greater good makes for a solid undercurrent in the film with a redeeming resolution.

Speaking of villains, Maidaan sees Devgn and his boys battle many - sorely poor editing runs front and center in this regard. Shahnawaz Mosani, the sports editor for Maidaan must be appreciated for the slick match sequences seminal to the story.

His work in the last thirty minutes of the film, capturing the Indian team's torrid journey through the 1962 Asian Games makes for a surreal theatre experience as audience applause syncs up with that of the on-screen stadium. Dev Rao Jadhav however, the film editor, has much to answer for the inexcusable, and unnecessary three-hour plus runtime.

Maidaan pales in comparison to Bollywood's recent legacy of sports dramas

Lagaan (2001), Chak De! India (2007), Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013), Dangal (2016) - these are some of the foremost titles from Bollywood's reservoir of sports dramas. Lagaan was the first of its kind, cinematising the struggle against the British Raj tied in with the national passion, cricket. Chak De! spotlighted the equally hard-hitting theme of women in sports. Dangal explored the same waters under the shadow and guidance of a proud patriarch. Maidaan in this regard, fails to present a pressing X factor to the audience.

Still, the film peaks strong in its highs. Against all odds is an understatement when it comes to the team's trot to victory, something effectively cinematised. A moment that stands out in the film is when the team's best defender, Jarnail Singh, is severely injured during the aggressive match with Thailand - Devgn simply mouths "Iska hisaab chahiye mujhe" and that is enough to supercharge them to a win. The actor's steely resolve manages to translate through the screen, for instance, even as he helplessly grasps at the lone bench, coughing up blood, in the final minutes of the South Korea-India playoff. Full props to the last thirty minutes of the film, delivering a 'clinical finish'.

Watch it or skip it?

Maidaan is every bit worth the watch. You must however, be prepared for occasional periods of lull and montages of intensive leg work, which very well could have been edited out to make the sports drama a much crisper watch.

That being said, Maidaan is a story that needed to be told - and more importantly, heard.

Bottomline

Ajay Devgn, unsurprisingly, maintains an impeccable gravitas right from the first frame, down to the last. Amartya Ray and Chaitanya Sharma shine nearly as bright. The last thirty minutes of the film may just convert you into an overnight football enthusiast, even if you know nothing about the sport. Chak De! fans can look forward to not one but two final strike moments.

Rating: 3/5