Maidaan teaser: Ajay Devgn ‘Lassos’ in the golden era of Indian football to big screen in impressive first look

Ajay Devgn is here to Ted Lasso his way into your hearts and minds with Maidaan. However, he takes a more ‘Kabir Khan’ approach to coaching sports. The first teaser for the upcoming Boney Kapoor production was released on Thursday and it’s indeed quite impressive. (Also read: Ted Lasso Season 2 review: Jason Sudeikis’ Apple show is a beacon of decency)

The teaser begins with an intro to the Indian football team in the 1950s which has qualified for the Olympics only the second time. What stands out about them is how they are playing the ‘greatest game’ barefoot. We are then introduced to broody coach Syed Abdul Rahim played by Ajay. There is a bunch of training montage, some stunning goals, a glimpse of the attacks the team faced and finally some electrifying pep talks. Watch the teaser here:

The film also stars Priyamani and is directed by Amit Sharma of Badhaai Ho. The music is by AR Rahman. The film has been delayed a lot due to Covid. Last year, Priyamani talked to HT about the delay. “We finished the shooting sometime back, the entire film is finished, but it had to be shifted. The makers also had to face a lot of difficulties because of Covid, they couldn’t get the crew and the actors to fly down. We followed all protocols…and now looking forward to release it. It is going to be a different film. It’s a different take even for Amit Sharma who has directed a film like this and added another feather to his cap,” says the 37-year-old. The film will now be out on June 23.

Maidaan was earlier slated for a October 15, 2021 release. There was big drama about the film clashing with SS Rajamouli’s RRR that Boney did not take lying down. “It was unethical for those people to announce on the same day, despite the same actor being the main lead of my film and one of the heroes of their film. I would take this to my grave, and it’s almost like stabbing on the back of the hero,” he had told Pinkvilla. Ajay was also part of RRR in a short role.