MAIDAAN at first might look like a lookalike of the 2018 Akshay Kumar film GOLD. But one must realise that the story of both the films is nearly the same and hence it's hard to present both films in very different ways.
MAIDAAN however I felt was a tad better than GOLD. The film is about the former Indian Football coach S. A. Rahim and how he formed a team which went on to win the gold medal for the first time at the Asian Games 1962, against all odds.
MAIDAAN is an initial slow burn but this is what I loved !! It sets up the film brilliantly for an engrossing second half. Only cinephiles will appreciate this move , otherwise masala lovers who only want fast paced screenplay will complain . The film does a great job in establishing the character of SA Rahim and the unjust world around him . By unjust , I mean the then ongoing politics in the football federation where Bengalis didn't like the presence of an outsider in their committee which meant the odds were against Rahim, who was from Hyderabad. The first half also does a great job in establishing Rahim's personality as well. What I really liked is there were no unnecessary songs that disrupted the screenplay .
The second half is just pure gold . The build up to the Asian Games and finally the football matches !! Ohh they are shot so brilliantly, Bollywood has never captured football matches of this level and Maidaan has set the bech mark very high. The camera work in the final match was just, just extraordinary, keeping you hooked to the match like superglue . Don't like football? Doesn't matter you will still be engrossed . The BGM , the emotions , the pain of the ailing coach and the rage in the eyes of the players , all are brilliantly captured in the second half making this film an absolute 3 hours marvel !!
By the way, it was great to see real names kept for the footballers and there is an additional surprise for audience at the end so watch out for that (will be a treat for football fans ).
Negatives - Poorly written negative characters . Rudranil and Gajraj have one dimensional characters and have nothing to do other than just pop up out of no where to spread negativity. The footballers like Chuni Goswami , PK Banerjee etc could have been introduced better by cutting down some unnecessary family sequences of SA Rahim in the first half .
Overall, this is 2024's must watch film. I am shocked that such high quality cinema is getting no chances from the audience. If you are reading this review, do give this film a chance , you won't be disappointed.
MAIDAAN however I felt was a tad better than GOLD. The film is about the former Indian Football coach S. A. Rahim and how he formed a team which went on to win the gold medal for the first time at the Asian Games 1962, against all odds.
MAIDAAN is an initial slow burn but this is what I loved !! It sets up the film brilliantly for an engrossing second half. Only cinephiles will appreciate this move , otherwise masala lovers who only want fast paced screenplay will complain . The film does a great job in establishing the character of SA Rahim and the unjust world around him . By unjust , I mean the then ongoing politics in the football federation where Bengalis didn't like the presence of an outsider in their committee which meant the odds were against Rahim, who was from Hyderabad. The first half also does a great job in establishing Rahim's personality as well. What I really liked is there were no unnecessary songs that disrupted the screenplay .
The second half is just pure gold . The build up to the Asian Games and finally the football matches !! Ohh they are shot so brilliantly, Bollywood has never captured football matches of this level and Maidaan has set the bech mark very high. The camera work in the final match was just, just extraordinary, keeping you hooked to the match like superglue . Don't like football? Doesn't matter you will still be engrossed . The BGM , the emotions , the pain of the ailing coach and the rage in the eyes of the players , all are brilliantly captured in the second half making this film an absolute 3 hours marvel !!
By the way, it was great to see real names kept for the footballers and there is an additional surprise for audience at the end so watch out for that (will be a treat for football fans ).
Negatives - Poorly written negative characters . Rudranil and Gajraj have one dimensional characters and have nothing to do other than just pop up out of no where to spread negativity. The footballers like Chuni Goswami , PK Banerjee etc could have been introduced better by cutting down some unnecessary family sequences of SA Rahim in the first half .
Overall, this is 2024's must watch film. I am shocked that such high quality cinema is getting no chances from the audience. If you are reading this review, do give this film a chance , you won't be disappointed.