Ajay Devgn starrer Maidaan in legal trouble; Mysore court puts stay on release amid plagiarism row

Maidaan – featuring Ajay Devgn as Syed Abdul Rahim, the man who devoted his life to football, bringing immense pride to India, releases today. However, reports suggest the film is in legal trouble. As reported by several publications, the period sports drama – starring Priyamani, Gajraj Rao, and Bengali actor Rudranil Ghosh in pivotal roles, is in legal trouble.

As per a News18 report, a Karnataka-based writer has claimed the film is plagiarised from his script on the life of India’s former football coach Syed Abdul Rahim. Owing to this accusation, a Mysore court has thus put a stay on the film’s release. Read on to know Kumar’s claim and what Maidaan co-producers Bay View Projects LLP have to say.

Anil Kumar’s claims

Anil Kumar took to LinkedIn to share his side of the story. The writer based out of Mysore wrote, “In 2010, I started writing the story and in 2018, I posted a poster about this, and I got in contact with ad director Sukhdas Suryavanshi through my LinkedIn post. He called me to Bombay (Mumbai) and asked me to get the script. I have the whole chat history. He told me that he’d make me meet Aamir Khan, but I couldn’t meet him for certain reasons. I gave him the story and registered the same with the Screen Writers Association.” Sukhdas Suryavanshi went on to be an Assistant Director on Maidaan. 

Anil Kumar further added in his post, “Recently, I heard that a movie named Maidaan is getting released. I was surprised because even I have the same story. When I looked at the teaser and their statements, I got to know that it was my story. They have twisted the main story itself and made this movie. I named the story Paadakanduka.”

Maidaan maker’s response 

Bay View Projects LLP, a co-producer of Maidaan, issued a statement in regard to the accusations. Their statement read, “We were not served any notice prior to the filing of the said suit or hearing of the matter. Additionally, the said order has been passed after the release of the film and therefore, any such order passed that retrains the release of the film is infructuous under law.” It further read, “However, we are filing an appeal against the order before the Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka. We shall move the matter before the Hon’ble High Court for urgent reliefs in order to stay the operation of the said order.”

The next hearing is scheduled for April 24.

Bollywood Bubble reviewed Maidaan and gave the film 3.5/5 stars. A snippet from the review reads, “Ajay Devgn hits a perfect goal in this emotional and engaging biographical sports drama. The film is definitely a must-watch movie that needs to be enjoyed on the big screens. The heart-pounding football matches will just pump you up.”

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