Music album of Maximum can be said to have maximum diversity in a single setting. The amazing fact is that out of six total tracks, three are two Sufi numbers, one Shloka taken from Rudrakash with the remaining three being more of items numbers. Quite some diversity!
Music of the album seems to be just about fine though, not to mention that the opening item track which, to give due credit, is quite a catchy number.
The album erupts with the Aa Ante Amalapuram, a good work by music director Devi Sri Prasad, which has been given strong voice of Malathy and together both have done well. The song is quite interesting since there is a good play of an item number that uses heavy beats and drums along with the use of some Bhojpuri words in the middle. It is borrowed from a hit South Indian track that is already a proven hit and soul of dance parties there.
Play of rhyming words starting with Aa Ante Amalapuram is not only interesting but also the soul of the track. This one establishes the fact that whether it's a small or big budget movie, all must have an item number to associate itself with, which is done for the masses, by the masses and to attract the masses. Of course the whole credit for this goes to Munni and Sheila!
Album has two true Sufi tracks which is quite a rarity. The first of the two, Ya Maula is quite lengthy as it lasts for over 7 and half minutes. Shabbir Ahmed has used beautiful Urdu words admiring the almighty. Music of Vikram-Sawan is also good and touches the heart but still something more could have been done in it. Hear this one with closed eyes and your soul will start enjoying it.
The third track, Aaja Meri Jaan, is not even an average track. Music is very ordinary and lyrics are not even ordinary. Seems here is a last minute track done in rush and surely not worth listening for a second time. Lyrics are so dull that you may soon stop this one and move to the next track.
The next track - Sutta - is a rowdy track. It's a perfect number to be played in all guys' cocktail party. Shrill voices of Nadeem Khan and Tulsi Kumar complement each other well, as they try hard to replicate the magic of Himesh Reshammiya. Though lyrics are quite weak and make little sense, only the music of the song holds on. Music Director Amjad Nadeem should be thanked to make such lyrics work.
The next one is Namami Shamishan which is a beautiful and different track. Taken from Rudrashatak (Ramcharita Manas), this one has been delivered in various albums in the past but the one here is more amazing and soothing. It experiments well with the beautiful play of instrumental music while praising almighty Lord Shiva, destroyer of the whole universe.
The final track of the album is the second of the Sufi track - Maan Qunto Maula. A nice number; it scores few more brownie points over the first one. Sufi track is another formula these days to make an album work and here too it delivers good results. Reason being it includes good ingredients of strong lyrics, musical nodes taken from classical background, good music - both vocal and instrumental and amazing voice that is not only soothing to ears but also to the soul. Each words connects well with other hence bringing alive the whole theme; ditto is the case here in this track. Nasir Ali Nasir has given good lyrics and singers Raga Boys have done there job well.
Overall the music of album is fine as few of the tracks are good. Still, there is something missing as well since not all of them are catchy enough. After all, only item numbers and Sufi music cannot hold fort on their own; balancing it all is truly an art.
Maximum Review - In Brief
Two cops battle it out for supremacy while going against the underworld...
Maximum Review - Story Plot
Pratap Pandit (Sonu Sood) is an upcoming star in the Mumbai Police's Encounter Squad, who juggles his family life with the same dedication as he guns down gangsters in order to make Mumbai safe. However, even as he battles the underworld, Pratap has to deal with enemies within the department- in the form of Arun Inaamdar (Naseeruddin Shah), a wily veteran who boasts of a higher encounter rate. Thrown in the mix are unscrupulous builders, power hungry senior police officials and opportunist politicians, who go about making shady deals as the two cops turn the bustling city of Mumbai in their personal battlefield…
Maximum Review - Performances
This reviewer, though a fan of Naseeruddin Shah, was severely disappointed to see the veteran actor in this flick. Shah looks utterly exhausted and disinterested and one would not be blamed for assuming that the actor, known for his excellent acting skills, could not muster up enough enthusiasm for the role. However, having said that, Sonu Sood puts in a decent performance as the encounter cop, who is at the top of his game and later hurtles on a downward spiral as circumstances change for the worse. Sood looks dashing as Pandit-complete with faded jeans, tucked in shirts and a pair of aviator glares and it's not difficult to see him playing a solo hero in Bollywood in the near future. Vinay Pathak as the politician is wasted and so is Neha Dhupia, who hardly gets to do anything substantial. Arya Babbar too looks clueless in the role of a scheming builder though Mohan Agashe does portray the role of a crafty politician quite well.
Maximum Review - Direction
Kaushik, who made an impressive debut with cop drama Sehar, seems to have dropped the ball with his later films and Maximum is no different. Though the concept of two cops struggling for power is quite interesting, Kaushik ruins it mercilessly by muddling up the plot with random instances and unnecessary scenes. Moreover, the reasons behind the bitter rivalry between the two cops, who are shown gunning for each other with a vengeance, is not explored at all. The climax particularly is as unrealistic as it can get! We mean, two cops indulging in back-stabbing is acceptable, but surely the audience cannot be expected to believe that two cop factions would indulge in a 'no hold barred' shootout to slay each other on a railway station (that too in the presence of a news reporter!)
Maximum Review - Music
Except for the item song Aa ante amalapuram featuring Hazel Keech, the music is not really worth remembering and the sight of a plump Keech (whatever happened to the petite Keech we saw in the 'Sprite' ads!?) is enough to ruin the moment too!
Maximum Review - Final Word
Fans of Sonu Sood might enjoy the movie, but apart from that, Maximum really has nothing much to offer…
The signs were clear last weekend itself when word of mouth started setting in for The Amazing Spider-Man. It was mixed and that reflected on the box office response during the week with collections falling on every passing day. Still, the opening numbers were so huge that even when audience didn't quite give it as much appreciation as the earlier Spider-Man flicks, there was still a moolah of 41 crores that was accumulated. That has been good enough for the film to reach the superhit mark, though as predicted last week, it certainly won't be a blockbuster as overall collections would just about touch the 50 crore mark.
On the other hand Maximum has turned out to be a disaster at the box office. The film didn't take an opening, couldn't find good reviews coming it's way, had a poor weekend overall and then totally crashed over the weekdays to fold up at under 2.5 crores mark. The film is off majority of theatres in the second week and would not add anything to this total. This is a major setback for Sonu Sood who was pining good hopes on the film to gain some leverage as a solo hero. However his only gain from the film has been good feedback coming for his performance which will help him stay afloat.
Daal Mein Kuch Kaala Hai, third release of the week, was a complete washout and couldn't even survive a single week at whichever theatre it was released. One now waits to see if Veena Malik would ever get an opportunity to act as a leading lady outside C Grade flicks.
When Maximum decided to arrive in the same week as The Amazing Spider-Man, it was always supposed to be professional hara-kiri. While it was a given that the film didn't quite stand a chance at the box office, one still expected at least 15%-20% opening for the film. However the pathetic response meted to the film pretty much indicates that audience were just not interested to watch this cop drama. The film opened to practically empty houses and situation didn't improve over rest of the weekend either. As a result, the film failed miserably at the box office with less than 1.5 crores coming in its kitty.
This also translates into the fact that director Kabeer Kaushik now has fourth flop in a row after Sehar, Chamku and Hum Tum aur Ghost. Meanwhile Sonu Sood can take solace from the fact that his performance was much appreciated in this realistic drama even though the film as a whole was largely rejected by the critics as well. Though there were a few good reviews that came the film's way, by and large most complained about the uneven narrative and the lack of meat in the drama. The film is a major flop and would fold up with miserable collections to show.
Meanwhile Hollywood invaded Indian screens in a big way with The Amazing Spider-Man not just opening huge but even sustaining itself well right through the weekend, hence resulting in collections that just fell short of the 30 crore mark. This is the biggest ever response that an international film has fetched in India and also reaffirms the fact that Spider-Man as a franchise is much awaited in this part of the world. Even though the reviews were good, they were not as overwhelming as the earlier instalments Spider-Man. The word of mouth is mixed which means while the film would collect big, it won't be a blockbuster.
On the other hand Daal Mein Kuch Kaala Hai couldn't find any attention whatsoever coming its way. It wasn't even released across the country and worse, there was no section of media that bothered to review. Big or small, reputed or unknown, just about every publication, website and news channel gave the film a total skip that pretty much reflects on the kind of welcome Veena Malik has received in Bollywood. With collections not even crossing the 25 lakhs mark, the film is a huge disaster.
