Ajay Devgn kicked off 2024 on a high note with Shaitaan, raking in an impressive Rs 144 crore within just a month of its release in India. Now, Ajay Devgn's second film of the year, the long-awaited sports drama Maidaan, has begun its theatrical run on Tuesday (April 10). According to a report from Sacnilk, the movie minted Rs 2.68 crore at the domestic box office on its opening day. Maidaan stars Ajay Devgn alongside Priyamani and Gajraj Rao. It delves into the life of Syed Abdul Rahim, the legendary football coach who led India to victory with two gold medals between 1952 and 1962.
Following the release of the Maidaan trailer, some fans drew comparisons between the film and the iconic sports drama Chak De India. Addressing these comparisons, director Amit Ravindernath Sharma spoke about the distinctiveness of Maidaan in an interview with India Today. He said, "As soon as a sports film arrives, people compare these films because of the story of a coach and players. Even before watching the film, people assume that it's a similar film."
Amit Sharma further elaborated, "There are no similarities between these films, except maybe 22 players are running after one ball on the field. The story is different, the struggle is different. This is also not a sports biopic, it's the journey of Abdul Rahim. Maidaan is about his emotional journey. Football is just the medium."
Maidaan opened to largely mixed reviews. Film critic Saibal Chatterjee, in his review for NDTV, gave the film 2 stars out of 5 and wrote, "To be fair, however, it isn't as gratuitously blustery as Bhaag Milkha Bhaag nor as drably predictable as M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story although its runtime is roughly the same as those two films. And it certainly anywhere near replicating the range of relevant thematic concerns that defined Chak De! India."
He added, "Maidaan, which celebrates the golden era of Indian football by bringing to the screen the story of a legendary man manager and football strategist working in a newly independent nation born amid the pain of the Partition, is a hit and run exercise that is undermined by ill-advised overkill.