Story of an Egg (Ondu Motteya Kathe)

Janardhan is a Kannada language teacher who's 28 and eager to marry. But every time his parents arrange a marriage, the bride turns him down because he's an "egghead*" which is to say that he's bald.

He seeks advice from two sources. One is a friend at work who is also balding but has been happily married 4 years and has quiet, wise advice. The other is his favorite actor Rajkumar, who is not only a Kannada legend but an Indian cinema legend. Janardhan channels his hero's words of wisdom through Rajkumar's photo benignly smiling down on him and memories of movies and songs. Between the two, he gains courage to approach women.

As he goes along, we recognize how different relationships will work out. These familiar beats allow for both comedy and empathy. When Janardhan finally meets a woman who would be a good match, he doesn't recognize it and winds up having to work through some of the very issues that he himself was a victim of.

We really enjoyed this this sweet, charming film which felt a lot like an American indie movie. I knew how it would turn out, after a certain point, but felt genuine anxiety toward the end where I wanted to urge Janardhan to go get his woman! This is a real tribute to Raj B. Shetty who wrote, directed, and starred in the film. 

The Times of India commented: "The film is probably the best tribute to Dr Rajkumar made on Kannada screen till date and the subtle references to the late matinee idol and his films are a delight to any film buff." That's something we weren't in any position to appreciate, but it is clear that Shetty did a first class job on several levels.

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)

*It's funny to think about slang because in America an egghead is a super-intellectual, often impractical, scientist-type.