It was recently reported that the entire set of Ajay Devgn's Maidaan was completely destroyed by Cyclone Tauktae, which was another big blow for producer Boney Kapoor and his co-producers. The first set already had to be dismantled during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic as it was becoming unfeasible to continue the upkeep due to its high maintenance. Now, Maidaan was all along planned as a mid-budget-sized project, and rightly so given its period-sports subjects and the fact that it doesn't boast of any other bankable name other than Ajay Devgn (as big as Keerthy Suresh may be down South, she's an untested product in Bollywood).
However, after these twin losses, especially the crushing devastation of the second one, many wondered of the kind of snowball effect it'd have on the production cost of Maidaan, and whether the makers would now need to look at peddling it as a big-budget venture, which would in turn increase the risk of recovery post release. But, an exclusive chat with one of the most reliable industry insiders, film exhibitor and distributor Akshaye Rathi, put things back into perspective in no time.
"It's possible (the budget burgeoning), but I'm sure they'll be ways to make up for it. See, Boneyji (Boney Kapoor) is an experienced producer who exactly knows how to balance things. He'll make sure that what's done is the best for it. So, I have absolutely no doubt in my mind about his ability to make up for these losses and make sure the film does phenomenal business and is profitable for everyone involved in it," revealed Akshaye Rathi.
Speaking about the rest of the cast and whether any known names could be a part of it other than confirmed ones like Keerthy Suresh, Gajraj Rao and Priyamani, he added, "From what I hear, there are a lot of junior artistes from various countries who are a part of it because of the matches that'll be played between the Indian team and various other teams. So, quite a few foreigners are a part of the film's cast as junior artistes. It's a fairly elaborate cast, and it's a complete sports film, it's an underdog sports film, so I'm sure it should be fantastic."
Coming to how much of the movie is pending, Akshaye concluded, "A decent portion of the film is still pending."
Well, there you have it. Even the cyclone couldn't dent the prospects of Maidaan that much.
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