16-acre Maidaan set dismantled due to prolonged lockdown, upcoming monsoon season

A 16-acre, high-maintenance set that was built for the Ajay Devgn-starrer Maidaan has been dismantled owing to the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown and the upcoming monsoon season.

"We built a massive outdoor set covering a 16-acre plot around Mumbai, with all the production infrastructure. Just as the shoot was getting underway, the pandemic hit the world," said the film's producer Boney Kapoor, adding, "The set has now been dismantled as rains are due to arrive in Mumbai. The rebuild will take at least two months, which will start in September at the earliest, so shooting can commence only in November."

Kapoor added this meant it was a massive loss, but thankfully the indoor shoots and certain outdoor scenes were already filmed in places like Lucknow and Kolkata before the lockdown. 

Directed by Badhaai Ho maker Amit Sharma, Maidaan is a football drama based on the life of former player, the late Syed Abdul Rahim, who is also regarded as one of the greatest coaches in the sport that India has seen. He managed the Indian national team from 1950 until his death in 1963, and is widely known as the architect of modern Indian football. The film stars Priyamani opposite Ajay Devgn.

Reportedly, sets of the Akshay Kumar-starrer historical drama, Prithviraj, will also be dismantled due to high maintenance cost.