In 2019, reports made the rounds that South Indian star Keerthy Suresh will debut in Bollywood opposite Ajay Devgn in Maidaan. However, she soon opted out of it. A report from Open Magazine claimed it was a mutually agreed upon decision between her and producer Boney Kapoor as she looked ‘too young’ for the part. Her team later clarified that they’re working out her dates implying that her exit may be a result of her chock-o-block schedule.
Eventually, Priya Mani Raj was roped in to play the part of Devgn’s wife in the film. And now, in an exclusive chat with News18 Showsha, director Amit Ravidernath Sharma opens up for the first time on what led to Suresh being replaced in Maidaan, thereby putting all speculations to rest.
Agreeing that the Mahanati and Dasara actor was the first choice, he tells us, “Yes, that was the plan. But Keerthy Suresh had lost a lot of weight. I wanted Syed Abdul Rahim’s (the late football coach Ajay plays in the film) wife to look a particular way. But since she lost weight, I felt like she wasn’t the right fit for the character. That’s when we realised that somebody else would be better suited for the part.”
On a different note, Maidaan marks the second collaboration between Sharma and Kapoor after the former’s debut directorial Tevar which starred Arjun Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha and was released in 2015. And for Maidaan, the veteran producer brought him the story of Rahim, which left Sharma teary-eyed.
“Boney ji called me for a story and wanted me to meet him. He told me about Syed Abdul Rahim. I had no idea about him. I had never heard of his name. I, anyway, know very less about football because I don’t play football. I’m more of a cricket guy. So anyway, I heard the story Mr Rahim and I had tears in my eyes. I realised that whether I know football or not doesn’t matter and that it’s a story of a man that needed to be told,” he recalls.
Talking about his equation with Kapoor, the Badhaai Do director says, “Boney ji told everyone that I’m like his son. Arjun also keeps telling me, ‘Yeh tumhaare papa hai, mere toh baad mein hai.’ There’s no doubt that Boney ji loves me like his own son. He receives the same kind of affection from me as well. I’m like a ziddi kid who has no hesitation about asking him what I want. Being a father figure, he can’t say no to me and that also comes from the fact that he’s a passionate producer.”
Sharma further continues, “What connects us is that we both can do anything for a story. We can go to any length to get a desired shot. We share a great emotional bond because we’re both emotional people and this bond began right from our first film together, Tevar. There are very few people you share such a relationship with. He’s a part of my life and it means a lot to me. It feels great to know that he loves me so dearly.”
Maidaan is set to release on April 10, 2024.
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