We met Amit Sharma at his lovely office and saw him relieved that his passion project, Maidaan, starring Ajay Devgn, will finally see the light of day in three weeks after a long wait. Yet, he still can’t sit back and relax. The last-minute work goes on. Nevertheless, there’s a genuine smile on his face, which comes from the fact that the sports period drama has shaped up well. Bollywood Hungama exclusively spoke with the talented filmmaker on this aspect and a lot more.
Was Ajay Devgn the first choice for Syed Abdul Rahim?
Ajay Devgn was the first and the only choice. There was no one else in the mind for this film.
How was it working with him on Maidaan? Did you work with him before?
No, we never worked before. The experience was amazing. He’s a brilliant actor. We usually have images of people in our heads. I had this image of Singham before I started the film. But the manner in which he turned into Syed Abdul Rahim was seamless. I thought that I’d have to work a lot on getting his transformation. We had conversations about body language, dialogue delivery etc. He came prepared and hence, it was easy to work with him. He’s always on time. He doesn’t even throw tantrums.
Many actors have remarked that you enact the scenes to them…
When I act out the scene, mujhe cheezein zyada dikhti hai. Before I call the actors on sets, sab actors ka main acting karta hoon! I show it to my DOP and other crew members. Then it becomes easy to understand how a certain character, say Syed Abdul Rahim, would react in a particular situation. At the same time, mere andar ka actor bhi baahar aa jaata hai (smiles).
I remember reading your interview where you stated that you acted in a scratch ad made for Limca long back…
Main toh actor hi banne aaya tha. Galti se director ban gaya!
Did you meet Syed Abdul Rahim’s family?
Yes. We met his son, Hakim sahab. We met the players as well. P K Banerjee sahab even paid us a visit on the sets. We also met Fortunato Franco sir, Arun Ghosh sir, Tulsidas Balaram sir, Chnni Goswami sahab etc. that too while we were writing the script. The character of Ajay Devgn, woh aise hi soch ke nahin bana diya. A lot of research has gone behind it like how he would react in a particular situation. The players remembered him very clearly. Every time they would talk about him, they would cry. They were overwhelmed to know that a film was being made about the man who made them. I met Franco sir in Goa and I asked him if I could see his medal and what he wore during the matches. He showed me the medal and told me to take it away! Balaram sir had the picture of only one God in his house – Syed Abdul Rahim sahab! It’s incredible. The players were 84 or 85 years old. They still have the same love and emotion for the man though nearly 65 years have passed.
Tell us about your bond with producer Boney Kapoor. This is your second film with him after Tevar (2015)…
He’s like my father and he treats me as his son. Arjun Kapoor, hence, said that he feels that woh unka sautela beta hai aur main unka asli beta hoon! He never says ‘No’ to me, no matter what I ask for. He’d go to any lengths to complete a film. I won’t say I am difficult, but I am very particular about things. Woh bhi particular hai woh cheezein mujhe dene ke liye. This is also why we get along so well.
Why did Maidaan take so much time to be released? It went on floors way back in August 2019…
Between August 2019 and February 2020, we had completed 65% of the shoot. We were supposed to release on December 11, 2020, and hence, we were progressing accordingly. It was the Covid-19 pandemic that led to the postponement. Our film also features actors who play international players. Getting them was also a challenge due to limited flights and they had to undergo a 14-day quarantine once they landed in India. And until I didn’t finish the shoot with them, our VFX work couldn’t commence. Also, hamara shoot shuru hota tha aur lockdown fir se lag jaata tha. On top of it, the cyclone in 2020 destroyed our stadium set. We had to rebuild it.
Moreover, the VFX process also took a lot of time. When you watch the film, you’ll ask me, ‘Where was the VFX in Maidaan?’. And that would be the biggest compliment for me! I have made sure that the VFX doesn’t look like VFX.
What was your thought process while the film was getting delayed?
I am someone who’ll make one film at a time. I got a lot of offers from producers asking me to make another film fatafat se in the interim. I declined. After all, Maidaan is a kind of film that needs a lot of love. I can’t detach myself from Maidaan, make another film and then come back. One person who needs to be glued to the film is the director. Actors can jump from one film to another. After all, they are playing characters. My job is to get them back into the character. Hence, I decided to stick to it. It has taken a lot from me. Yet, I was adamant that until Maidaan releases, I wouldn’t do anything else.
6 months ago, you showed the film to Aamir Khan. Did he give any valuable input?
He saw the film at this very office. He came out of the film, looked at me and said, ‘I couldn’t stop crying and I couldn’t stop smiling’. He also said that he was at the edge of his seat while watching Maidaan. Not even once did he say that this could have been better or that could have been better. In between, I used to go in to see how he was reacting. He did not know that I was peeping inside but I could see that he was enjoying.
On February 28, another screening was held for several industry folks. It shows that you all have confidence in your product since very rarely, does anyone show their films in advance…
I guess that’s the confidence of the producer (Boney Kapoor) that he has shown the film to so many people! We are all very happy that every department has done a brilliant job. The amount of people who have worked on this film is unbelievable. The other day, I was asking why is the end credits roll taking so much time. The team member replied, ‘Time toh lagega. Itne saare naam jo hai’! I asked, ‘Kitne naam hai?’ This is when I was told that 3,500 people have worked on this film! And we cannot not have those names.
I was at the mixing studio and the computer was conking off constantly. I asked the engineer why is this happening. He replied, ‘The film your film is very, very big’. I said, ‘I understand but does the computer need an upgrade since it’s not able to support such a heavy file?’. He told me, ‘Computer ekdum correct hai. But in your film, 1300 voices have been used’!
You, in fact, have two editors on Maidaan. Shahnawaz Mosani has only worked on sports scenes. Again a rare phenomenon…
He and Dev Rao Jadhav both are brilliant editors. Dev Rao Jadhav worked with me on Tevar and also before that on my ads. Shahnawaz Mosani, too, has worked on my ads. With the amount of footage we had, it was not possible for one editor to work on it. Hence, we decided to have two editors – one who would cut the sports scenes and one who would work on the emotional scenes. They have done outstanding work.
At the trailer launch, Boney Kapoor said that Maidaan might be released in 3D. Any update?
We have yet to make a decision.
What next?
I have liked an idea. I don’t want to talk about it right now. I’ll soon start working on it. Uske pehle main Maidaan se completely baahar nikal jaunga (smiles).
3 years ago, it was announced that you’ll be directing the remake of The Intern…
I am not doing it.
You made the video of the song ‘Main Rahun Ya Na Rahun’ and it was quite touching. It would be interesting to see you make a love story…
I am dying to make a love story. If you stumble upon a story, please come to me! By the way, Badhaai Ho (2018) was also a love story, a love story of oldies!
You said in an interview that your parents used to walk hand-in-hand every night. Did they serve as an inspiration behind Badhaai Ho?
Indeed. My parents are the inspiration for all the emotions that I have inside me. All the stories I have around me, it’s all because of my family. I get to learn so many things from my son as well! Even my grandmother plays a big role in my understanding of emotional values.
Lastly, would you like to get into acting?
Woh toh main set pe karte rehta hoon na!
Manoj Bajpayee, who worked with you on Tevar, once said, “I call Amit a frustrated actor. He always wants to enact the scenes while explaining. From the first narration itself, I had to stop him from enacting the scenes…”
During the shoot, every actor tells me, ‘Aap hi kar lo yeh scene’! When I do pre-production for ads, I don’t have a storyboard. I simply stand up and explain the film to the clients. They have often told me, ‘Why don’t you play this character?’. I don’t know what to say. I simply reply, ‘I’ll think about it’!
Also Read: Maidaan song ‘Mirza’ out: Ajay Devgn and Priyamani’s blissful chemistry takes center stage, watch
More Pages: Maidaan Box Office Collection , Maidaan Movie Review
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