MAIDAAN (2024) MOVIE REVIEW

MAIDAAN (2024) - MOVIE REVIEW

Cast: Ajay Devgn, Priyamani, Gajraj Rao

Critic’s Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

Director: Amit Sharma

Duration: 3 hour, 1 minute

Genre: Sports Drama

Language: Hindi

Release: 2024

Review:

Maidaan is a biopic of  Syed Abdul Rahim, The pioneer of football coach in India. Under the coaching of this revolutionary, the Indian team was known as “Brazil Of Asia” He introduced 4-2-4 formation much before Brazil made it popular.

Set in 50s & 60s the story begins with a 42 year old Syed Abdul Rahim (Ajay Devgn) trying to upgrade his football team from NATIONAL football team to INDIAN football team. The challenges he faces from football federation, the wins, losses & drama unfolds in 3 hour duration.

Director Amit Sharma has made a very good Sports drama with real emotions,  that’s gripping from start to finish. His treatment is fresh & that makes it different from other films of this tried and tested genre. Extra brownie points for beautifully choreographed football scenes & that immersive climax which ends on a high note. Don’t miss the mid-credits. Razor sharp Dialogues by Ritesh Shah, backed by an absolute Brilliant score of AR Rahman elevates the film to next level.

Performances wise, Ajay Devgn the actor is back. He brings his A-Game to this film with an intense act. Watch out for his scene in Pre-Interval, where the actor responds to the (SPOILER) with a small pause, then smiles and lights his cigarette, followed by a dialogue. Which just shows his acting range. Maidaan is another addition in his long list of classy films. Priyamani as  Devgn’s wife is adorable and prolly the best act she has done in her career. Gajraj Rao as villain is  so good at playing that character, that you’ll end up hating him whenever he appears on screen. Now coming to Maidaan ka Khiladis  played by a bunch of  talented newcomers and what’s amazing about these guys are that each player has come across as a well defined individual. Similar to  Chak De India (2007), players of Maidaan will be remembered.

Talking about flaws, the film does dip in the middle hour with few matches that felt like highlights and were blurry, even during talkie portion involving Devgn-Priyamani were Blurry distracting & hard to watch. These few flaws are covered up with GOALS scored by Ajay Devgn, Music, Dialogues & Director.

My screening was a full house with people ranging from 20s-60s. There were multiple moments in this film, where I felt like I was sitting in a football stadium. Kudos to Director for creating this impact.

Maidaan does an excellent job in showcasing how one man can bring change to a system. I hope in future INDIA gets to play for FIFA world cup.