The Family Man actress Priyamani replaces Keerthy Suresh in Ajay Devgn's sports drama Maidaan

National Award-winning actress Keerthy Suresh, who was supposed to make her debut in the Hindi film industry with Maidaan , has been replaced by Priyamani.

As per a press release, Keerthy had shot for Maidaan for a day. After the shoot, however, both Keerthy and the makers felt she looked too young as she had lost a lot of weight since she was cast for the film. The makers felt Keerthy would not suit the role of a mother in the film, and hence, decided to recast Priyamani in the role.

Priyamani has acted in over 50 films across all South languages. She has also performed a special number in Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone-starrer Chennai Express.

Maidaan is based on how the Indian football team, under the guidance of SA Raheem, brought glory to the country during the years of 1952 to 1962. Ajay Devgn will play the role of Indian football coach and manager, Syed Abdul Rahim. Directed by Amit Ravindernath Sharma, the film also stars Bengali actor Rudranil Ghosh, and Gajraj Rao.

Previously, Ajay had shared the poster of Maidaan, which had a huge football in the shape of a globe. The text on the poster read, ‘The Golden Era of Indian Football,’ in gold font. It also gave a glimpse of a jam-packed stadium with a match in progress.

Priyamani was recently seen in the lead role in the Amazon Prime Videos India Original,  The Family Man , alongside Manoj Bajpayee. She was also seen playing the lead in the Telegu remake of Dhanush’s critically acclaimed film  Asuran . She will also step into the shoes of Sasikala in Thalaivi, the highly anticipated J Jayalalithaa biopic, starring Kangana Ranaut.

Maidaan is presented by Zee Studios and Boney Kapoor, and produced by Kapoor, Akash Chawla, and Arunava Joy Sengupta. The screenplay and dialogues for Maidaan are written by Saiwyn Quadros and Ritesh Shah respectively. The film is scheduled to release on 27 November.