‘Maidaan’ final trailer: A glimpse into the life of Syed Abdul Rahim

Ajay Devgn’s upcoming film ‘Maidaan’ got a ‘final trailer’ recently, to celebrate the actor’s birthday. The new trailer presented a glimpse into the life of Indian football team coach Syed Abdul Rahim, who put the country on the football map in the 1950s and the 1960s.

Ajay plays the lead role, while Priyamani plays the role of his wife. The trailer showed Syed Abdul Rahman scouring the nation for fresh talent that could play in any position, as opposed to finding players that could fulfil dedicated roles. Along the way, Syed faces push-back from a villainous bureaucrat played by Gajraj Rao. He also sighs in boardroom meetings, when regional representatives accuse him of favouring the players of another state. “Mujhe laga tha aaj aakhir Hindustan ki baat hogi, lekin hum to ab tak Bengal aur Hyderabad mein atke hain (I thought I was here to talk about India, but we’re still stuck on Bengal and Hyderabad),” Syed said.

The trailer also gave glimpses of the football scenes, shot on a lavish scale on real fields enhanced by visual effects. The team suffers humiliation and public criticism as it forges ahead, despite roadblocks around every corner. “Iss bheed se saath ki ummeed mat rakhna, aaj kaan band karke khelna (Don’t expect support from this crowd, play with your ears closed),” Syed said. Later, when one player is badly injured, he could be seen seething, “Iska hisaab chahiye (I want vengeance).”

The film is produced by Boney Kapoor and set to release on Eid, April 10. Besides ‘Maidaan’, Ajay also has ‘Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha’, ‘Raid 2’ and ‘Singham 3’ releasing this year.