Boney Kapoor, in a recent interview, admitted that he was very upset when Ajay Devgn starrer Maidaan delivered an underwhelming performance at the box office.
Ajay Devgn sports drama Maidaan received critical acclaim when it released in cinema halls earlier this year. Sadly, the film failed to impress at the box office and managed to collect less than Rs 70 crore.
In a recent interview with News18 Showsha, Boney Kapoor who bankrolled this Ajay Devgn-starrer opened up on the film’s poor performance. The producer admitted that Maidaan‘s failure was a ‘shocker’ and added that he was upset by it.
Boney was quoted as saying, “Naturally I was upset. I was very upset for a few days but then you’ve got to move on. Raj Kapoor was the most prolific filmmaker. He made several hits and blockbusters. But he too had films that didn’t meet his expectations.”
He continued, “Maidaan was a shocker because before the film was released, everybody was very, very vociferous in praising the film. We had several screenings for the people of the film industry and everybody used to be absolutely amazed and stunned by the film. Of course, some of them felt that the first half was a little slow, but the second was absolutely extraordinary.”
Speaking about even today, how filmmakers from the industry call him to praise the film, he added, “Some of the filmmakers also called me up, appreciated the film and they also wondered why the film didn’t do well. But I think it could be one of the iconic films like Mr. India in times to come.”
He was also all praise for his leading man Ajay Devgn and called Maidaan his best performance to date.
He further added, “Everybody performed very well. His wife, Gajraj (Rao) and the players, the whole team had performed very well. Amit Sharma (director) is almost like my son and Priyamani was extraordinary. There couldn’t have been a more perfect wife to that particular character. Every moment of the film seemed real, it looked like it was happening in front of you.”
Helmed by Amit Sharma, Maidaan is based on the real life of Syed Abdul Rahim, the famous football coach who led the Indian team to its golden era back in the 1950s and ’60s.
