Not Priyamani, but this actress was first choice opposite Ajay Devgn in Maidaan, got replaced because...

Written By Riya Sharma | Updated: Mar 23, 2024, 12:37 PM IST

Priyamani was not first choice for Maidaan

Priyamani was not the fist choice to play Ajay Devgn's wife in biographical sports drama Maidaan.

Ajay Devgn and Priyamani are all set to entertain the audience with their upcoming movie Maidaan. Recently, the teaser of the film left fans excited. However, do you know that Priyamani was not the first choice for the film? 

Yes, the director of the film, Amit Ravidernath Sharma revealed in an interview that Keerthy Suresh was the first choice opposite Ajay Devgn in Maidaan, however, she was replaced with Priyamani because she had lost a lot of weight. 

In an interview with News18, Amit Ravidernath Sharma said, "Yes, that was the plan. But Keerthy Suresh had lost a lot of weight. I wanted Syed Abdul Rahim’s (the late football coach Ajay plays in the film) wife to look a particular way. But since she lost weight, I felt like she wasn’t the right fit for the character. That’s when we realised that somebody else would be better suited for the part."

Earlier, there were reports doing rounds that Keerthy Suresh will be making her Bollywood debut alongside Ajay Devgn in Maidaan, however, later it was reported that she opted out of the film due to date issues and eventually Priyamani was offered the role of Ajay Devgn's wife in Maidaan. 

He further recalled how the film's script left him teary-eyed and said, "Boney ji called me for a story and wanted me to meet him. He told me about Syed Abdul Rahim. I had no idea about him. I had never heard of his name. I, anyway, know very less about football because I don’t play football. I’m more of a cricket guy. So anyway, I heard the story Mr Rahim and I had tears in my eyes. I realised that whether I know football or not doesn’t matter and that it’s a story of a man that needed to be told." 

Maidaan is a biographical sports drama film co-written and directed by Amit Sharma and produced by Boney Kapoor. The film chronicles the life and journey of Syed Abdul Rahim, an esteemed football coach who revolutionized the sport in India. Maidaan is set to hit the theatres on April 10 and will be clashing with  Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff's Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. 

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