The baddie (played by Arjun) in Lie couldn’t have summarised his life better when he says, Ashwatthama hataha kunjaraha . He says even Kurukshetram was based on a lie, justifying his existence where truth finds no space. The world is on the move to find the identity of this man who lives a life in disguise.
Lie , for a redemption drama, comes with an impressive mythological subtext; the story is narrated through the eyes of Indra and Narada in a modern world. They’re here to unite a wastrel A Sathyam (Nithiin — a voice-over hints at a man who never speaks the truth) and Chaitra (played by Megha Akash), who’s a wanderlust. The two meet on a flight to Las Vegas and make a pact not to speak the truth during the trip. Even when Chaitra confesses her love for Sathyam, she says, ‘I love you, I mean I hate you’.
A tarot reader friend of Chaitra compares Sathyam to Brihannala, that he is a man of secrets and he’s hiding something for a reason. While Sathyam and Chaitra’s luxurious holiday appears to be going smooth, destiny connects Sathyam to the baddie. It’s their confrontation that drives this multi-layered plot packaged with an adept mix of love, action and intelligence. The director is so confident that Arjun teases us intermittently about the twists, saying ‘It’s worth waiting’.
Lie is a commercial package at the end of the day, yet it’s a cut above many action thrillers largely because of the director’s knack to blend situational humour, logic, detailing and even a socio-fantasy element into the narrative. Chaitra and Sathyam’s friend Vennela provide comic relief in a film that’s mostly intense right from the word go. There’s a smart action sequence where Chaitra wears a VR gear in an attempt to beat up goons. However, the story would have improved if the director hadn’t undermined Chaitra’s intelligence.
The first hour of Lie sets up the mood right, the sequences progress at a brisk pace while the director introduces us to the quirky back stories of the characters. There’s adept focus on their histrionics and styling, Nithiin and Arjun are equal matches in terms of wit and intelligence. While Nithiin shows impressive progress as an actor (and yes, there’s a Pawan Kalyan reference here too), Arjun makes good use of his body language to add depth to his character. The build-up towards the climactic stretch is so smart that the final scene seems underwhelming. Nasser has good screen space, but his role contributes little to the story, Megha Akash too is saddled with a role that only requires her to act dumb and dance to the male protagonist’s tunes. The surprise package is Ravi Kisshan, who for a change plays a positive role. Mani Sharma’s background score lends sharpness to the chases; the songs are high on energy and shot in beautiful locales, but they’re of little relevance to the story. A simple story with a complex narrative, Lie is a director’s show. Hanu Raghavapudi proves he’s here to stay for long.
Lie
Cast: Nithiin, Megha Akash, Arjun
Director: Hanu Raghavapudi
Music: Mani Sharma
Storyline: An unlikely couple meets on a flight headed to Las Vegas for a holiday, while destiny has other ideas.
