Maidaan director Amit Ravindernath Sharma tests Covid positive; shoot of Ajay Devgn-starrer delayed

Ajay Devgn in Maidaan

After Ranbir Kapoor, Kartik Aaryan, Manoj Bajpayee and Siddhant Chaturvedi, another Bollywood celebrity has contracted the COVID-19 virus. Director Amit Ravindernath Sharma, who was filming the penultimate schedule of Maidaan till March 12, tested positive a few days later. Without the captain of the ship, the last leg of the sports drama, which sees Ajay Devgn play football coach Syed Abdul Rahim, is postponed by almost two weeks.

A source from the Maidaan unit reveals that the team was slated to kick off the final schedule in Madh Island on March 16. "After every two matches, the makeshift football ground has to be refurbished as it gets damaged during the shoot. So, after the team wrapped up the schedule on March 12, a three-day break was charted out to give a touch-up to the stadium. But with Amit in isolation at his home, the shoot will now begin in April," says the source. Leading man Devgn is utilising the time to complete the remaining portions of his directorial venture, Mayday, in Mumbai while overseeing the post-production of Bhuj: The Pride Of India.

Amit Ravindernath Sharma

Maidaan is one of the many films that have had a long journey to the finish line due to the lockdown. After an 11-month wait, the unit of the Boney Kapoor production resumed work on the drama on February 14 at Chitrarth studios in Powai, and went on to shoot the crucial football matches at the Madh Island set.

Confirming that he has tested positive, the director told mid-day, "We plan to resume shooting in the first week of April."