“I didn’t know we were ever that good in football,” said director Amit Sharma as he spoke about Maidaan at a conclave in Delhi. The Ajay Devgn-starrer tells the inspiring story of Syed Abdul Rahim, the football coach who led India to gold at the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games. Sharma admits that he had little knowledge about the coach when producer Boney Kapoor first approached him for the project. “It took me 3.5 years of research to start the film. Ajay’s performance is outstanding. No one else could have played this role,” he added.

Sharma, who always dreamed of making a sports film, said, “I wanted to make a sports film and a biopic, and Maidaan was both.”

About his learnings while making the film, he said, “Syed Abdul Rahim had lung cancer, and he passed away 6-7 months after winning the gold. After learning all this about him, I realised how we operate: Hamare paas kaam na karne ke kitne bahaane hain. That man was dying, (but) uska jazba itna strong tha ki gold medal leke aa gaya. Jab mere paer mein dard hota hai, to main office nahi jata. Meetings ko shift kar deta tha. I don’t keep decisions pending now; that’s what changed in me after making the film.”

About how the audience in India received his film, Amit said, “Log sochte hain football pe film ban rahi hai toh kya samajh aayega. I went to theatres and saw a lot of women in the audience. Football is an emotion in the film, and I have used tools in a way for the audience to understand football.”