'Maidaan' final trailer: Ajay Devgn shines as S.A. Rahim in film that highlights journey of Indian football

Ajay Devgn in Maidaan

As actor Ajay Devgn turned 55 years old today, the makers of the much-awaited movie 'Maidaan' treated fans with a return gift by sharing the final trailer of the film.

Taking to Instagram, Ajay shared the final trailer video and captioned it, "Dil EK, Samaj EK, Soch EK! Witness the untold true story of S.A. Rahim and his #TeamIndia, aajao #Maidaan mein, in Cinemas 10th April! #MaidaanFinalTrailer Out Now!"

The trailer opens with Priyamani's character encouraging her husband Syed Abdul Rahim, played by Ajay, with a pep talk. She lauds him for believing that India can achieve football glory in the imminent Olympics, back in the 1950s. The video also shows Ajay's character selecting young football players from the margins, building India's underdog team, player by player, in contrast to Gajraj Rao's burecreautic nature. Ajay and his team don't only have to face rivalry in the stadium but also with jeers from the crowd and a mob protesting outside demanding India to "go back."

Earlier, the trailer of the movie showed, Ajay's character working hard to bring India's football game to the world map. In the trailer, he can be seen building a team, including young men from slums, and training them to make it big globally. "We aren't the largest country, neither the richest. Half of the world doesn't know us. Football can create our identity because the whole world plays football. So, India needs to focus on making a world-class team for the next 10 years," Ajay said in the trailer's voice over.

As the film approaches its release date, there have been several doubts people have regarding similarities with Shah Rukh Khan's ‘Chak De India'. Now, director Amit R Sharma has reacted to the comparisons and said that there are no similarities between the two films. Amit Ravindernath Sharma, in a conversation with India Today, shared, "As soon as a sports film arrives, people compare these films because of the story of a coach and players. Even before watching the film, people assume that it's a similar film."

He continued, "There are no similarities between these films, except maybe 22 players are running after one ball on the field. The story is different, the struggle is different. This is also not a sports biopic, it's the journey of Abdul Rahim. Maidaan is about his emotional journey. Football is just the medium."

The movie is all set to be released in theatres on April 10.

(with inputs from ANI)