New Delhi: "Maradona: Blessed Dream", a new series based on the life of late football great Diego Maradona, has premiered on Amazon Prime Video. The series was being filmed when the legendary Argentine footballer died of a heart attack in November 2020.
It tells the story of Maradona’s rise from the outskirts of Buenos Aires to a global superstar of soccer who had his share of controversies in his lifetime.
The series will have 10 episodes of one hour each, mixing archive footage with dramatised scenes from his life. A second season, also of 10 episodes, has already been commissioned.
Four actors, including Juan Palomino, Juan Palomino, and Nicolás Goldschmidt, have played Maradona at various stages of his life in the drama series.
It promises to reveal “little-known details” about Maradona, who was known to be unpredictable and who battled alcohol and drug addiction that affected his career, a Reuters report said.
The first episode begins with a 40-year-old Maradona, overweight and out of breath on a beach, overdosed on cocaine and about to be hospitalised, according to the report.
Though Maradona was said to have approved the script before his death, the report said the show has caused a controversy in Argentina already.
Claudia Villafane, his former wife, moved court to get some scenes dropped, and is reported to have said that she will see the final cut before taking a call on whether to take legal action.
‘He Played By His Own Rules’
“Maradona: Blessed Dream follows the controversial life of legendary footballer Diego Armando Maradona. A boy from Argentina with a dream of greatness, made his mark in the international football league, earning himself a well-deserved place in history. Living a life strewn with drugs, sex and public scrutiny, he played by his own rules regardless of the consequence. Watch the man who took the football world by storm and made his way into the hearts of millions,” reads the official synopsis of the series.
Originally in Spanish, and titled ‘Maradona, sueño bendito’, the series has been written by Guillerno Salmerón and Silvina Olschansky, and directed by Alejandro Aimetta.
In India, ‘Maradona: Blessed Dream’ will release in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Bengali, apart from English.
“Maradona: Blessed Dream goes beyond being just a biopic and narrates a tale that is inspiring, relatable and enjoyable for everyone. We are delighted to release the series in India in 5 local languages, enhancing its appeal and reach even further, and giving Maradona’s Indian fans a chance to experience the story of a widely-adored man, in a language of their choice,” Sushant Sreeram, Director, Marketing, India, Amazon Prime Video, said in a statement.