Maazii () is a 2013 Indian film directed by Jaideep Chopra and produced by Jaideep Chopra and Narendra Singh. It is a remake of the 2005 English film ''

A History of Violence ''A History of Violence'' is a 2005 action thriller film directed by David Cronenberg and written by Josh Olson. It is an adaptation of the 1997 DC Comics, DC A History of Violence (comics), graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke. The fi ...

''.

Cast

* Sumeet Nijhawan as Tarun Singh * Mona Wasu as Shrishti Singh *

Manish Chaudhary Manish Prakash Chaudhari is an Indian actor who is best known for his character of Sunil Puri in ''Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year''. He made his film debut in the 2003 Indian film ''Rules: Pyaar Ka Superhit Formula''. He was also seen in th ...

as Gulab Singh *

Pankaj Tripathi Pankaj Tripathi, born as Pankaj Tiwari (5 September 1976), is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Hindi films and series. He is the recipient of two National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award. After studying acting at the National School ...

as Satinder Rathi *

Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub Khan is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. He is frequently cast in supporting roles, and has appeared in more than 25 films in a career which has spanned eight years. He has also worked in a Hindi serial "Kyunk ...

as Ashfaq * Manav Kaushik as Satinder Bhati * Zakir Hussain as Mahinder Singh *

Mukesh Rishi Mukesh Rishi (born 19 April 1956) is an Indian actor and film producer who works primarily in Hindi and Telugu films. He has also appeared in Malayalam, Kannada, Punjabi, Marathi and Tamil films. He got his first break in Hindi in 1993 with ...

as Malhaan Singh (special appearance) *

Ashok Banthia Ashok Banthia, sometimes referred as Ashok Bathia or Ashok Bhatia, is an Indian actor and director associated with Hindi film, television and theatre actor. He is a NSD (National School of Drama) alumnus known for his roles in Australian TV ...

as Satbeer Singh * Devender Chaudhary as Rajinder Chaudhary *

Mohit Chauhan Mohit Chauhan (born 11 March 1966) is an Indian playback singer, known for his work in Hindi films. He was a part of the Silk Route (band), Silk Route band. Chauhan has received two Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer and three Zee Ci ...

as Sushil Jain * Pooja Bisht as Shanno * Saanvi Sharma as Minal * Vansh Chopra as Young Tarun

Synopsis

''Maazii'' is a thriller that travels from the hills of Mussoorie to the plains of western Uttar Pradesh. It is a story about a couple, Tarun (

Sumit Nijhawan Sumit Nijhawan (born 28 December 1978) is an Indian actor residing in Mumbai, India. Nijhawan has appeared in films such as ''Contract'', '' Sarkar Raj'' and '' Phas Gaye Re Obama''. He also played Sarfaraz, a prominent character in the movie '' ...

) and Shrishti ( Mona Wasu) who have a near perfect relationship. However, by a twist of fate, an unfortunate accident occurs, which brings Tarun's life into the limelight and turns him into a hero overnight. The events that follow not only shatter the peaceful life of the family but also leave them in grave danger. When his daughter, Minal (Saanvi Sharma), is kidnapped at the hands of an unknown assailant, Tarun will go to any lengths to rescue her. He must return to his roots and find out who is creating havoc in his life and the motive behind it.

Filming

The first half of the film was shot in the scenic locations of Mussourie and

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

, and the second half was mostly shot in the rustic and raw locations of

Meerut Meerut (, ISO 15919, ISO: ''Mēraṭh'') is a city in the western region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Located in the Meerut district, it is northeast of the national capital, New Delhi, and is ...

. The flashback portion of the film was filmed in Rao Raj Vilas fort of

Jat The Jat people (, ), also spelt Jaat and Jatt, are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, many Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in l ...

Jagirdar of

Kuchesar Kuchesar was a Zamindari estate of Dalal Jats during the British Raj. It is situated off the NH 24 in what is now of Bulandshahr district, Uttar Pradesh, India, from Delhi. Part of the Kuchesar Fort, built 1734, became a heritage hotel in 199 ...

, near

. The shooting was completed within the pre-decided schedule of 31 days from 29 October to 2 November 2012. The production budget was around Rs. Four Crores.

Release

The film was released across the country on 27 September 2013. However, being a debutorial venture without any big names attached to it, despite great critical acclaim, ''Maazii'' failed to get many screens. It was re-released in cinemas on 11 October 2013. In 2019, Maazii was released on Prime Video.

Critical acclaim

Despite being Jaideep Chopra's debut directorial, ''Maazii'' received good critical acclaim and his work as a director was appreciated. Renowned critic Subhash K. Jha, called it "the shocking surprise of the season." He also stated that Maazii "takes us back to the stylish thrillers of B.R. Chopra like Dhund and Ittefaq. Debutant Jaideep Chopra's film is well-crafted and thoughtfully scripted. It's an original idea executed in a gripping language. Worth a dekko for its suspenseful aura." Rohit Vats from IBN7 gave ''Maazii'' a rating of 4/5 stars and was all praises for the film. He claimed that ''Maazii'' shows "a glimpse of the latent potential of the gangster genre" and was "not to be missed" India Today's Faheem Ruhani mentioned in his review that "Director Jaideep Chopra's debut directorial Maazii is that pleasant surprise which hits you once in a while." "Maazii" was also listed as one of the 10 "small films/non-star cast films that made it big" in 2013 in an article in DNA newspaper.

Controversies

Despite good critic reviews, the film was not given many screens. In an interview, the producers of the film reported that several multiplex chains had demanded money in return for giving them shows. This led to a wave of controversy with several other producers and directors coming forward to claim that they had faced similar extortion at the hands of multiplex chains.

Music

The music score of the film was composed by the duo Faizan Hussain-Agnel Roman, ''Maazii'' being their first commercial film album. Faizan Hussain is the nephew of tabla maestro

Ustad Zakir Hussain Zakir Hussain Allarakha Qureshi (9March 195115December 2024) was an Indian tabla player, composer, arranger, percussionist, music producer and film actor. The eldest son of esteemed tabla player Alla Rakha, Hussain was widely regarded as the g ...

. Lyrics for the album were written by

Swanand Kirkire Swanand Kirkire (born 29 April 1972) is an Indian lyricist, playback singer, writer, assistant director, actor and dialogue writer, who works in Marathi and Hindi film and television. Kirkire won the National Film Award for Best Lyrics twice: f ...

and Arun Kumar. The preparation for the songs and selection of music started as early as May 2012. Recording of the songs began in October 2012. The music album was launched on 30 August 2013.

Nominations and awards

References

External links

* * {{Bollywood Hungama movie, 664584 2010s Hindi-language films 2013 films Indian remakes of American films Films shot in Mussoorie Films shot in Uttar Pradesh Films shot in Uttarakhand