Actors Ajay Devgn and Priyamani with producer Boney Kapoor and director Amit Sharma during the trailer launch of upcoming film Maidaan, in Mumbai, Thursday, March 7, 2024.
-Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: Bollywood star Ajay Devgn is not worried about his upcoming film Maidaan and Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff-led Bade Miyan Chote Miyan clashing at the box office as he believes there is audience for both the movies.
Maidaan, a period sports drama, while Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, is an action thriller. They will hit the screens on April 10 on the day of Eid.
Devgn said he does not look at both movies releasing on the same day as a clash.
"I would not call it a clash. If you call it clash, then it means that two films should not be released on the same day. But there are times when you have to do this.
"Both films are of different genres. We are all like a family, we are friends. We are not looking at it like a clash, we are looking at it like a big weekend and both the films will do well," the actor said at the trailer launch of the film.
Maidaan tackles the true story of Syed Abdul Rahim (played by Devgn), who served as a coach and manager of the Indian football team from 1950 until his death in 1963.
Devgn said he wasn't aware about the golden years of Indian football and when he heard a brief about the film from producer Boney Kapoor, he instantly agreed to do it. He also said the film challenged him as an actor.
"After 1983 (referring to India's win in the cricket world cup), football was lost somewhere. I was amazed that this happened in our country. We had Amit Sharma (director), who did extensive research," he said.
"I would not call it just a sports film. It has got so much drama. As an actor, it was a film with so many layers. It is very strong in its emotional drama, apart from sports. After a long time, I had fun doing a film like this. I thoroughly enjoyed it," Devgn added.
The movie marks Devgn's first sports biopic and the actor said he was thrilled to have this opportunity.
"It feels very exciting when you watch any match at home (on TV) or if you are playing anywhere, suddenly you feel younger. It gets very exciting. Amit trained all the boys for a year, and they all play (football) so well. I haven't played (football) on screen, I just have one sequence," he added.
Also featuring Priyamani, Gajraj Rao, and Rudranil Ghosh, the film is presented by Zee Studios.
Priyamani thanked the makers for casting her in the film opposite Devgn.
"All thanks to Boney sir. I met Amit Sharma, I did a look test and within ten days, I was in the film, shooting with the man (Devgn). I was so intimidated at the beginning as I was sharing screen space with Ajay Devgn. Initially, I was very intimidated but he made me feel comfortable on set. It was an honour to share the screen with him. I hope I've lived upto the expectations of Amit."
Boney said shooting the film during the pandemic was challenging.
"During the lockdown, we had our sets standing in Madh (an area in Mumbai) for around three and a half years. When we would get a window to shoot, we had all the players coming from all over the world. Technicians would come from overseas, they would land here, shoot a match for maybe eight-ten days and there would be a lockdown again. This happened to us thrice."