Priya Ganpati

A portly Govinda prances around with a svelte Sushmita Sen. When he is bored of his 'hi-fi' heroine, he dives into a pool filled with lotus flowers and Rambha, much in danger of bursting out of her clothes.

He spouts absurd dialogues that compare a wife to a television and mistress to the Internet. (Biwi toh TV ki tarah hai -- jab bhi switch karo wohi programme chalta rahta hai. Tum toh Internet ki tarah ho -- jab bhi kholo toh naya site dikhayee deta hai)

Loud clothes dominate. And the audience is expected to cackle at corny situations like the one where the actors say 'cheers' and clink each other's pani puri.

Now, who would watch a mad caper like that?

I did.

Hmm. So did I like it?

Loved it.

Kyo Kii... Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta is senseless, an insult to the intelligence. But it is funny. If you are not laughing through the film, you are laughing at it.

After all, it's a David Dhawan film. Snob value aside, you must admit Govinda films are hilarious.

KKMJNB is about Raj Malhotra (Govinda), small-time lawyer who comes to Bombay to make his fortune. Shrewd and streetsmart, he wants to take the elevator to the top. Opportunity knocks in the form of the city's most celebrated advocate, Tejpal (Anupam Kher), whose accomplishments include two daughters.

Raj watches a hawkish Adarsh (Sharad Kapoor) -- in a blink-and-you-miss-him role -- who makes it big because he is married to Tejpal's elder daughter, played by a nameless someone.

Fortunately, Tejpal has another pretty daughter Sonal (Sushmita Sen) up for grabs. And Raj plots, manipulates, lies and dances in an effort to convince her into matrimony.

That accomplished, he just about settles down when wifey drops a bomb on him. She would rather live in her husband's humble abode (a chawl) than in her father's palace. You see, she has taken his protests of independence, pride and righteousness a tad too seriously.

As Raj's best laid plans to usurp his father in law's riches go awry, he decides to get to the top on his own. Why he didn't think of that in the beginning beats us. Then again, in a David Dhawan film, you don't ask questions.

Raj turns into a compulsive liar (not that he wasn't one before) and manipulates his way to riches. In seven years, he acquires fame, fortune and a son.

Then, one day, the otherwise cootchie-cooing, ever-forgiving wife stages a walkout. She can't bear the company he keeps anymore. It is now left to their six-year-old boy to make a wish upon a shooting star that his father stop fibbing, if he wants a happy married life.

His wish is granted, thanks to some clever manoeuvreing by the scriptwriters, who have suddenly decided that the film needs to take off on the lines of Jim Carey's Liar Liar.

Govinda is brilliant. His comic timing stands in good stead, once again. Though he is no patch on Carey when it comes to facial contortions, Govinda manages to raise more than a few laughs.

There is also no mistaking that age is telling on him. Through the film, he looks middle-aged. One wishes he shed those extra kilos.

Sushmita Sen sizzles. She dances like a dream and matches Govinda step for step. But as soon as she moves into the role of a wife, she becomes extremely boring. Suddenly, she sports salwar kameezes, heavy jewellery and the pativrata nari act. She fails to look convincing in Indian costumes.

She also has to work on her dialogue delivery. A highly accented Hindi and lots of hamming makes her grate on the nerves after some time.

Rambha, as the vamp, is wasted. She has precious little to do other than strut around in impossibly tight clothes that serve to highlight ungainly cellulite. But then, David Dhawan seems to have a fascination for ménage a trois, what with Gharwali Baharwali and Biwi No 1 revolving around the one-man-two-women theme.

The film is Govinda all the way. It could have well been called Govinda no 1.

The villain, Karla (Ashish Vidyarthi) seems like a paper cutout -- he is so one-dimensional.

The music by Anand Raj Anand is mediocre but the songs are livened up by Govinda's energetic steps in three-inch heels to match Sushmita's height.

With KKMJNB, Dhawan takes charge of the editing table and crafts a taut comedy that rarely sags. He knows what clicks with the masses: a lot of laughs, a lot of Govinda's mad antics and minimum effort on the grey matter.

KKMJNB is total paisa vasool and like they say in Bombay, fultoo timepass.

Just hang in there and flow with the film.

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