Days after his last release Badhaai Ho won the National Award for Best Popular Film, director Amit Sharma has started shooting for Maidaan. The sports drama has Ajay Devgn bringing the life of football coach Syed Abdul Rahim — who coached Team India to victory at the Asian Games in 1951 and 1962 — to the big screen. The director says he chose Devgn as he saw similarities in the trajectory of his subject and his leading man. "We are telling a story of an honest man who was an underdog and took football to the next level. That is the kind of journey that Ajay sir has gone through. Also, he is one actor who can show a variety of emotions purely with his eyes. This role demanded that."

Rahim