‘Maidaan’ director Amit Ravindernath Sharma shares his insights on the movie’s comparison with Shah Rukh Khan’s blockbuster sports drama ‘Chak De India’. Starring Ajay Devgan, Priyamani, and Gajraj Rao along with Bengali actor Rudranil Ghosh unlike Chak De, this film is also based on the football. Amit who sat down in an interview with IndiaToday.in opened up this comparison. Let’s find out his exclusive reaction.
Amit Ravindernath Sharma said there are no similarities between these films
The director told the outlet, “As soon as a sports film arrives, people compare these films because of the story of a coach and players. Even before watching the film, people assume that it’s a similar film. There are no similarities between these films, except maybe 22 players are running after one ball on the field. The story is different, the struggle is different. This is also not a sports biopic, it’s the journey of Abdul Rahim. Maidaan is about his emotional journey. Football is just the medium.”
Moreover, he also opened up about the difficulties of making a period film especially if it’s based on football. As he puts in, “Challenges are always good, as one would get bored making the same films. The most important thing is that audiences will finally get to know about this man. They need to know what he’s done for the country. There is no jingoism, but just his utmost love for India and football. Also, I always wanted to do a biopic and a sports film. This gave me the opportunity to do both, and that was a treat.”
Moreover, he shares that although football doesn’t get as Cricket there are certainly some changes are coming up. As he added,”The change is happening at the grassroot level. Also, we are a cricket-loving nation, so the focus is there more. I think after this film, the change might happen. We were never a bad team. We were called the ‘Brazil of Asia’ by the FIFA chief once. We are such a huge population that we can always find 11 players who can represent us. I think once we start getting more medals, youngsters will get more interested. Cricket also became big in the country only after the 1983 World Cup.”
The story Maidaan is based on the life and journey of Syed Abdul Rahim, the revolutionised football coach who entails a drastic change in the India sports in the 1950s.
Also Read: ‘Yeh Meri Family’ season 3 trailer is out now: Indulge into the sweet 90s memories
