Boney Kapoor Was ‘Shocked And Upset’ After Maidaan Failure: ‘I Am Proud Of This Movie’ | Exclusive – News18

Last Updated:December 23, 2024, 07:50 IST

Boney Kapoor mentioned that even today, filmmakers from the industry call him to praise Maidaan.

When Ajay Devgn’s Maidaan hit theatres in April this year, it failed to impress the audience. Despite earning praise from the critics, the film earned less than Rs 70 crore at the box office.  Looking back at the film’s box office failure, producer Boney Kapoor shared with us, News18 Showsha, that Maidaan’s failure came as a shock to him. He added that he was also upset by the film’s box office reception.

“Naturally I was upset. I was very upset for a few days but then you’ve got to move on. Raj Kapoor was the most prolific filmmaker. He made several hits and blockbusters. But he too had films that didn’t meet his expectations, Boney Kapoor told us.

“Maidaan was a shocker because before the film was released, everybody was very, very vociferous in praising the film. We had several screenings for the people of the film industry and everybody used to be absolutely amazed and stunned by the film. Of course, some of them felt that the first half was a little slow, but the second was absolutely extraordinary,” he shared.

Boney Kapoor mentioned that even today, filmmakers from the industry call him to praise Maidaan and express their disappointment as the movie did not perform well at the box office. “Some of the filmmakers also called me up, appreciated the film and they also wondered why the film didn’t do well. But I think it could be one of the iconic films like Mr. India in times to come,” he said.

Boney Kapoor defended Maidaan and called it Ajay Devgn’s best performance ever. “It is Ajay Devgn’s best performance to date. Everybody performed very well. His wife, Gajraj (Rao) and the players, the whole team had performed very well. Amit Sharma (director) is almost like my son and Priyamani was extraordinary. There couldn’t have been a more perfect wife to that particular character. Every moment of the film seemed real, it looked like it was happening in front of you,” he stated.

However, Boney Kapoor also agreed that there is no formulae for a hit movie. Wondering the reason behind Maidaan’s box office debacle, the film producer told us, “Somehow it didn’t draw enough crowd to the theatres. And I failed to wonder why it didn’t. Maybe we lacked some kind of promotional activity or probably it was not pitched rightly. Probably they thought that the film had come and gone because we were making it for four years. They didn’t realise we were stuck for 3 years because of COVID.”

“All in all, I remain proud of that film and I will remain proud of that film,” he concluded.