Veteran producer Boney Kapoor's latest Hindi film, Maidaan, starring National Award winners Ajay Devgn and Priyamani in the lead roles and directed by Amit Sharma has been receiving a positive response at the box office along with critical acclaim. The biographical sports drama film had initially been announced with National Award-wining Tamil actress Keerthy Suresh as the female lead before Priyamani was cast in the role. Meanwhile, Boney Kapoor, during an exclusive interview with Galatta India host Nayandeep Rakshit, opened up on Keerthy Suresh opting out of Maidaan saying she felt it wasn't the right role to be launched in Hindi cinema.
Speaking about Keerthy Suresh's exit from Maidaan, Boney Kapoor said "We shot with her. Finally, she felt that she shouldn't be launched in a film where she's got two grown-up children. And, parallelly my director who was editing those scenes had called me. When she called me to Chennai, she said I need to talk to you. I was trying to figure out what she wants to talk to me about. My director had called me and said, 'Boney ji, when you come here, you have a look at the rushes of the scenes we have shot.' He didn't tell me what the actual situation was." He continued, "Then, I met Keerthy and she said she needs to opt out of the film because she feels this role is not the right one to be launched in Hindi. I was thinking about how I've spent so much on that set where we shot for two days with her, but she was very sure. I had no choice because you can't really force anybody."
Boney Kapoor further explained, "I came back to Bombay dejected and I told Amit that she's not keen to do it. He said, 'Thank God. I called you for this only. We cannot do injustice to her.' Because she's lost weight. When we did the audition, we took the [look] test with her. She was healthier than what she was when we shot with her. She looked like a glamorous heroine when we shot with her. And, it would be unfair for us to give her this part where she's playing a mother to a 16-year-old daughter and a 19-year-old son. We parted amicably. We still are very good friends and I surely will work with her sometime or the other."
