A MOVIE ABOUT THE BALD AND THE BEAUTIFUL

“Women love a self-confident bald man,” observed Lawrence Gene David, the American writer, actor, director, comedian and producer, who, along with Jerry Seinfeld created the blockbuster television series “Seinfeld”. The view is obviously predicated upon 'self-confidence' of the bald man.

"ಒಂದು ಮೊಟ್ಟೆಯ ಕಥೆ" ('Ondu Moṭṭeya Kathe' which translates to “One Egg's Story”) is a 2017 Kannada language romantic comedy film, which examines the predicament of a bald man low on self-esteem.

The plot revolves around Janardhana (Raj B Shetty), a bald Kannada teacher, who's in a race against time to enter into wedlock. The reason: an astrologer has predicted that if he does not get married within a year, then he is likely to remain a bachelor all his life. Keen on romance and desperate to tie the nuptial knot, timid, diffident Janardhana tries innumerable ways to find his soul mate. In the process, he encounters several obstacles, not to mention hard-core biases in and deep-seated hypocrisies of society, typecasting and body-shaming included.

But, then 'beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder'.

So, does Janardhana find his better half? Do wedding bells ring for him?

The story of this lovely indie film is intertwined with anecdotes from films of matinee idol and maven of Kannada cinema, Rajkumar– this adds to the creative appeal of the narrative.

Debutante actor, writer and director, Raj B Shetty has created this subtle and soulful gem; neither realism nor pragmatism is sacrificed on the altar of comic content. The choice of the cast too is picture-perfect. Raj Shetty steals the show with his performance, which fills the bill of the protagonist to a tee. The dialogues are neither artificial nor melodramatic; yet, they elicit giggles and guffaws galore.

The background score, editing and cinematography are, shall we say, adequate.

I rate the movie: 7.5 on 10!


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