murali-5

The movie is laudable because of the mature theme it chooses to deal with. The actors are convincing throughout the movie. The portrayals are believable. Sanjay Dutt, Nandita Das and Om Puri impress.

However, the movie loses its steam and meanders after the first quarter. The director might have thought he was creating a lot of gray shaded characters but instead he ends up creating non-credible and confused ones. Unnecessary flashback songs, and a dragging narrative don't help either.

In the end it's another Bollywood Masala movie where the impossible is made possible by a single man's efforts. The only thing that distinguishes this movie from other pot-boilers is the cause for which the hero fights for and it's a worthy one...

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...

Alicia Silverstone uses this perfect vehicle to turn in a pretty decent performance as a confused, witty and angst filled teenager. Others actors ably support Alicia in this venture.

Jokes about teenagers hitting the malls at the ring of a cell phone, cranky gals during "that time of the month," gays who are all supposed to read Oscar Wilde abound but the director manages to keep the pace slick.

While expressions like "As if" and "Not even" will stay with you for a while after you are done with the movie, there are some toughies like "riding the crimson," which make you go find a slang dictionary. All in all, "Cluless" is an enjoyable fare, though a bit silly at times.