It’s why most of the genre tropes ring hollow. The training montage in Maidaan is accompanied by a terribly bland anthem called “Team India Hai Hum”. The recruitment montage seems to be abandoned midway through. The staging and visual effects (VFX) – the packed stadiums, the skies, the exotic backdrops of Rome, Jakarta or even Bombay’s Oval Maidan – evoke the artifice of a Zack Snyder universe. The opponents (special mention to the Australian coach who virtually sings out his insults) are one-note stereotypes. The soundtrack is jarring. The film’s version of Chak De’s famous “Sattar minute” speech revolves around the number one (“ek”) – which is fitting, because the wordplay deserves one star. The Indian commentators shuffle between calling the matches, narrating the screenplay, and mansplaining the sport of football. And last but not least, the performances lack the impact of the legacies. The personalities of a few household names (PK Bannerjee, Chuni Goswami, Peter Thangaraj) aside, the acting is limited to the field. The supporting cast does a decent job as players, but they don’t transcend the collective din of a team.
Yet, it’s the seniors that stumble. Devgn’s turn is so muted – the voice modulation and body language so inhibited – that Rahim barely registers as a football coach. He almost disappears into his stoicness. There is no context to Rahim’s passion for the game, and no evidence of his managerial skills other than a lone moment of him schooling a star striker. He chain-smokes like someone who knows he’s going to get lung cancer, with the cigarettes looking like forced props in the first half. The sullen gaze gets a bit repetitive; the only time the protagonist looks alive is when he’s coughing up a storm. The film fares slightly better than him, if only because football – a solid metaphor for life – elevates the climax. Which is to say: Maidaan scores in stoppage time, but it isn’t enough to salvage the scoreline. A thrilling finish doesn’t always amount to victory. Sometimes, it’s just a slimmer margin of defeat.
