A slap-stick comedy at its clamourous best, King Liar, marking the reunion of hit-making duo Siddique-Lal after long years, purges all logic and banks on make-believe coincidences. The typical Dileep-starrer is an overdose of non-stop and high-pitched banter. It takes some shape of a convincing story-line only when the narration treads back to the school-days for a flash back.
Satynarayanan (Dileep), a misguided talent gone awry by the pressure of circumstances, grows to be a bluff-master who cloaks and discards robes of various roles to eke out a living. With an uncanny talent to deceive people, he is full of confidence to bail himself as well as others out of trouble. The story is all about his unflinching efforts to win back the heart of his love and the circus he plays out thereafter.
Dileep once again proves he won't back down on his high-volt performance as a wholesome entertainer. Perhaps, after the few early minutes, Satyanarayanan is spread out in almost all the frames. Giving him ample support is Balu Verghese as Antappan, Satynarayanan's side-kick who clocks a perfect timing in almost each of the sequences. Though he seems wanting in wrapping up his bits, Balu Verghese has enough space to flourish and survives the heat to get noticed.
Joy Mathew as Satyanarayan's school-day nemesis, Pothuval Master, convinces to a large extent as relentlessness personified. Lal, as business tycoon Anand Varma, makes a ravishing entry with his elegant gait and deep baritone for effect, and sustains the rhythm till the end. There are situations that weave a sensible atmosphere, but all such environs were pin-busted by never-ending comic interludes.
It's a tight contest between Madonna Sebastian as Anjali and Asha Sharath as Devika Varma. While Madonna tries to flesh out the comic skeleton with reasons and some logic, Asha Sharath endows the main conflict with the due mass. Both were instrumental in shoring up the essence of the movie, which would have otherwise turned completely distasteful. Meanwhile, Lal held the reins from the other end all along.
The bang-on but misplaced wits begin their trail from the word go. But the pace and speeding chain of events leave you no space to chide the hideousness of many of the fizzled out comic counters. But of course, some of them really work out for the comic ballet. The docking between the comic and the serene is well aided by the illogical pattern of the story line.
As the plot shifts from the bluff medleys in Kochi to those in Dubai, a major part gets pinned on events connected with the couture world followed by brand wars, catwalks, glamour, glitz, beauty contests and a whole lot more connected with the ramp business. What makes it emotionally engaging is the question of a family relationship at stake.
The frivolousness, the fantasy world and the emotional profundity are handled with care and by striking the right balance. As a comic pass-time, King Liar is intended to be a boisterous revelry. And, it never grows beyond.
Onmanorama rating: 2.5/5