Arjun scores over Nithiin

Scheming villain, who is also master of disguise and an ‘intelligent’ hero, a stingy heroine, who starts a game of lies with hero, God Indra and sage Narada often come into the fray to shake up the things; the premise looks promising but Nithiin starrer ‘Lie’ flatters only to deceive.

Looks like director Hanu Raghavapudi, who delivered average grosser, ‘Krishnagadi Veera Prema Gadha’, wrote two stories – a spy thriller and a love story. And as an afterthought clubbed both stories to make a kichidi that is badly cooked.

NIA, headed by Ravi Kishen is on a lookout for most wanted criminal played by Arjun (after a long hiatus on Telugu screen), when they think they have him cornered, he escapes and in the melee, the NIA chief kills an innocent man. 19 years later, the chief finds a clue that can lead to the super villain and puts his best man on the job.

Meanwhile, sage Narada (Brahmaji) asks Lord Indra played with aplomb by Prithvi Raj, as marriages are made in heaven, what about love between two unknown and stark opposites. To answer Narada’s doubt, the duo descends on Earth and shakes up things so that a stingy and miserly Chaitra (debutant Megha Akash) and a street smart Satyam (Nithiin), who is a habitual liar meet.

They travel to the US. When love is about to blossom, the happy-go-lucky hero find himself in web of intrigue, deceit and skulduggery. What happens next forms the story.

The two separate stories have superb potential, nabbing a man, who has no name, no face and is a master of disguise is an intriguing plot in itself. So is the game of lies between hero and heroine to fall in love. Sadly, the director fails to explore the potential of both the stories. The frequent flip-flopping between both stories slackens the pace that is usually associated with spy thrillers.

Arjun is supposed to be an invincible villain and Nithiin is a street smart spy, so when they both meet, you expect sparks flying but that is not the case. The so called ‘Money shot’ scenes haven’t worked out. Same was the case with the love story, despite the promising premise it falls into usual tropes of Telugu cinema. Moreover, the frequent inter-cutting into the main story arc, make it all the more boring.

To his credit, despite the flaws director Hanu Raghavapudi keeps up the factor of intrigue until the third part, where he badly falters. Fifteen minutes into the second half, you feel like the film is dragging and it ends with an underwhelming climax.

Arjun is a good pick for super villain and plays well within the character’s limitations. Nithiin’s Satyam is a complex character; he does his best, which sadly isn’t good enough. Megha Akash hardly impresses. Mani Sharma is in top form when it comes to background music but same cannot be said about songs, albeit “Bombhatt”, which will be a chartbuster. In a nutshell, Nithiin fans need to ‘Lie’ that it works.

Film Name : lie

Cast : Nithiin, Arjun, Megha Akash. Brahmaji and Privithvi Raj
Direction : Hanu Raghavapudi
Genre : Suspense thriller
Likes : Story premise, BGM
Dislikes : Second half

By Aditya Parankusam