When the shooting of Maidaan came to a halt in March this year owing to lockdown, the cast and crew had arrived at a very important part of the narrative — the football matches. A ground had been readied in Madh Island for the shoot, with all the technical settings in place for the sports-led drama revolving around one of India’s most successful football coaches, Syed Abdul Rahim. At the onset of the monsoons, the set had to be dismantled and the ground had to be cleared.

News is that the film is likely to go on the floors from January with Ajay Devgn, who headlines the film, and his football squad back in action. It was rumoured that the shoot might be moved to another location, on the outskirts of Mumbai. However, Amit Ravindernath Sharma, the director of the film, told BT, “We are not leaving Mumbai.”

He further added, “Even as we speak, work has begun in full swing on the grounds in Madh Island; it’s the same location where we were going to shoot in March. There was a lot of wild grass that had grown on the ground. All of that and more is being looked into so that we’re on schedule in January.”

Elaborating on the prep the cast has to go through, Amit, who recently shot an ad film underlining the job losses during the Coronavirus pandemic and the power of social media, said, “Ajay sir is excited and ready to get back on set. With the pandemic, everything had to be put on hold. The actors were doing their regular physical training. However, as the lockdown eased in the country, they started prepping for their parts. For the last month or so, they have been undergoing formal training with a coach and are gearing up for the sports portions of the film. While doing all of this, we are making sure that safety and precautionary measures are in place for all crew members.”