JOIN USOndu Motteya Kathe
Kannada (U) 4/5
Cast: Raj B Shetty, Amrutha Naik, Shreya Achan, Usha Bhandary Shailashree, Prakash Tuminadu, Vj Vineeth, Rahul Amin, Deepak Rai Panaje, Ramdas
Director: Raj B Shetty
Having wowed audiences at Indian film festivals in New York and London, Raj B Shetty’s Ondu Motteya Kathe is here to bowl over the home crowd. And what a movie it is! Soulful, comical, yet profound in its thematic premise.
Debutant director Raj Shetty — who also plays the lead role gloriously — tackles a touchy subject in this wholesome entertainer. Through protagonist Janardhan — a 28-year-old Mangalurean Kannada tutor — Shetty brings to the fore social prejudices and stereotyping that baldies face, as also similar issues related to physical attributes.
A die-hard advocate of Kannada language, Janardhan has one simple mission in life — get hitched to a beautiful woman. Woefully, he is bald, or egghead as the title goes.
The family priest counsels him to either get married within a year or spend his entire life a bachelor, and Janardhan goes about bride-hunting, his concerned mother in tow.
While many reject him after a look at his bald pate, Sarala fancies him due to his simple disposition. But all Janardhan can see is an obese woman.
The comedy is also an ode to matinee idol the late
Dr Rajkumar with obvious references to the man and his films.
Ably supported by an elevating score by Mithun Mukundan and performances by first-timers, Ondu Motteya Kathe drives home the message — beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.
That it is skin deep and one needs to come to terms with it and appreciate one’s inner self.
Great show. After all, Ondu Motteya Kathe could be your story as well.