Aaj Ka Goonda Raaj

Aaj Ka Goonda Raaj review :

Megastar Chiranjeevi's second Hindi release after the super hit Pratibandh (1990); Aaj Ka Goonda Raaj saw the megastar as a street smart hero who takes the corruption surrounding him head on..it was a sharp contrast to his earlier role of a serious cop in Pratibandh which had a Zanjeer (1973) hangover. Here, Chiru played to the gallery and was a delight to watch - whether break-dancing with Kunika in the 'Challenge' song or the daredevil fight sequence in the police station.

A remake of his own Telugu hit Gang Leader (1991); the film was titled Goondaraj earlier but the Aaj Ka...got added later for certain reason. Meenakshi Seshadri was cast opposite the megastar and she added her glamour quotient effectively in the 'Tota mere tota' and 'Lashkara' numbers complimenting Chiru perfectly. This is second rare instance after Shahenshah (1988) where Meenu looked hot and sexy, for a change!!

The villain duo was also memorable. Prem Chopra and Sharat Saxena were Tejpal and Nagpal - two white suited no-gooders with sexy Kunika in tow. "Tum Mandakini se thodi jyaada; Madhuri se thodi kum ho" is how Chopra introduces her. In a later scene, he warns Chiru, "Hum saanp se thode jyaada; nevla se thode kam hai". Hilarious!!

Sure enough, Aaj Ka Goonda Raaj became a commercial success. It is particularly memorable for Dadar-Mahim movie buffs like me as it was the last movie to be screened at the iconic Badal Bijlee Cinema. You will be surprised to know that even the last show here was almost full!!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

It's a typical masala movie, of course. But the movie wins solely because of Chiranjeevi, who at that time was the highest paid actor in India. ( He was getting Rs/- 1.25 crores per movie, compared to Rajani Kanth's 1 crore and Amitabh's 75 lakhs.) By 1992, Chiru had a successful run at the top of Tollywood for ten glorious years. Un-opposed, un-challenged he had ruled the Telugu Marquee for a decade and especially in the last couple years before this movie got released, he had gone from strength to strength.

So, it was with this background Chiru went back to the Hindi audiences with his second movie. His swagger, his demeanor oozed supreme confidence and Aaj ka Goonda Raaj hit bull's eye, more so because of this than anything else.

His dance for the number "No one can dance with me, no one can take a chance with me," set the Bombay dance clubs on fire for more than a year after the movie hit the screen. It was the most popular dance number in all the parties that year too.

If for nothing else, the movie is worth watching for this song alone. And it's a treat to Chiru's fans, when he utters the lines, "Mujh saa na koyi yahaan," with an attitude almost bordering on arrogance. It it tough not to agree with him...