Maidaan producer Boney Kapoor: Have to build set for the third time

Ajay Devgn in Maidaan

On Friday, mid-day reported that the Maidaan set, built at Madh Island, was among the many properties destroyed by Cyclone Tauktae (The ruined playing field, May 21). This comes as a severe blow to producer Boney Kapoor who has spared no expense for the ambitious Ajay Devgn-led sports drama. Only months after the film went on floors in August 2019, the producer zeroed in on a 16-acre plot in Madh Island, where a huge makeshift stadium was built to shoot the football matches.

Boney Kapoor

A unit member recounts that the set was first dismantled in May 2020 in the wake of the first lockdown. "After things improved, we rebuilt it in November 2020. The unit resumed work on February 14 this year at a Powai studio, and went on to shoot four crucial football matches at the Madh Island set-up. But the filming was stalled soon after due to the junta curfew," says the source.

The multi-crore makeshift stadium was retained in the hope that director Amit Ravindernath Sharma would shoot the remaining matches at the venue as soon as the restrictions were eased. Hardly had anybody anticipated a cyclone that would leave the site - comprising eight make-up rooms, a hall for junior artistes, a standalone room for production control and 26 toilets - ravaged. The source adds, "Boney has suffered serious losses. Almost 80 per cent of the site is damaged. About 10 days of landscaping will be required to revamp the ground, but the surrounding areas will take more time. The monsoon will pose another problem. The set will have to be recreated by September so that the pending four matches can be wrapped up."

The Madh Island set lies ravaged after the cyclone

Though devastated, Kapoor is grateful that those present on the premises were not hurt. "We had a team of curators, staff members and security at the venue. Thankfully, nothing happened to them," says the producer, before taking stock of the damage to property. "I will have to build the set for the third time. It took us six months to construct it the first time, and a couple of months to rebuild it last year. Hopefully, this time, we'll reconstruct it in one-and-a-half months." The film is eyeing an October release.

Six - Number of months it took to build the stadium, the first time

Also read: Boney Kapoor on Maidaan vs RRR clash: Disrespecting not only me, but also Ajay