Ajay Devgn and director Amit R Sharma’s perseverance and patience have finally brought them to the last leg of Maidaan. In October, the team will kick off the final 25-day schedule of the biographical sports drama centred on Syed Abdul Rahim, the late coach and manager of the Indian football team. However, before Devgn can report to the set, the makers will have to rebuild the makeshift stadium in Madh Island that was destroyed in May due to Cyclone Tauktae.

A source from the unit reveals that reconstruction of the set will begin from mid-September. “The shoot is expected to begin around October 25 and will continue till the first week of December, with breaks in between to recure the football field. Ajay will shoot the climax, which includes recreating the 1962 Asian Games final match in Jakarta where India bagged the gold medal,” says the source. The director has apparently lined up three more matches, including the semi-final of the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, for the stint.

Last month, Sharma conducted a week-long schedule of the Boney Kapoor production minus Devgn. He shot portions of the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games where India was humiliated by Yugoslavia in the preliminary round. The unit filmed on rainy days, thus recreating the damp conditions of the field in Helsinki. “The match remains one of Indian football’s biggest defeats. After this match, the All India Football Federation [AIFF] made boots mandatory for players. Before that, the Indian football team played barefoot.”