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Thithi
Thithi Kannada Poster
Directed by	Raam Reddy
Screenplay by	Eregowda Raam Reddy
Produced by	Pratap Reddy Sunmin Park
Starring	Thammegowda S. Channegowda Abhishek H. N. Pooja S.M.
Cinematography	Doron Tempert
Edited by	John Zimmerman Raam Reddy
Production companies	Prspctvs Productions Maxmedia
Release dates	10 August 2015 (2015-08-10) (Locarno Film Festival) 6 May 2016 (2016-05-06) (India) 9 March 2017 (2017-03-09) (Netflix)
Running time	120 minutes
Country	India
Language	Kannada

Thithi (Funeral) is a 2015 Indian Kannada drama film co-written and directed by Raam Reddy. Consisting of a cast of non-professional actors from villages in the Mandya district of Karnataka, the film is a (semi-) light-hearted story about three generations of men reacting to the death of their 101-year old patriarch. It is an Indian-American co-production, jointly produced by Pratap Reddy from Prspctvs Productions and Sunmin Park from Maxmedia.

Thithi premiered at the 68th Locarno International Film Festival on 8 August 2015, where it won the Golden Leopard - Filmmakers of the Present category as well as the First Feature award. Consequently, it was screened at various film festivals around the world and won numerous awards including the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada at the 63rd National Film Awards. It was released in Karnataka on 6 May 2016 and in the rest of India on 3 June 2016 to generally positive reviews.

Plot

Thithi is a dramatic comedy about how three generations of sons react to the death of the oldest in their clan, a man named Century Gowda: a locally renowned, highly cantankerous 101-year-old man. Set in a remote village in Karnataka's Mandya district, the three storylines intertwine before converging at Century Gowda's 'thithi' — the final funeral celebration, 11 days after a death.

Century Gowda's eldest son, Gaddappa (literally translating to "Beard Man"), is himself a little old man who spends his time nonchalantly wandering the village fields, puffing cheap cigarettes and swigging brandy. Gaddappa's far more materialistic son, Thammanna, plots to illegally sell Century Gowda's five-acre property, even though the land officially belongs to his father. At the same time, Thammanna's confident pubescent son, Abhi, shrugs his responsibilities to relentlessly pursue a shepherd girl, Kavery (Pooja S.M.)

Cast

• Channegowda as Gaddappa
• Thammegowda as Thammanna
• Abhishek H.N as Abhi
• Pooja S.M. as Kaveri
• Singrigowda as Century Gowda

Development and production

The seed that gave rise to Thithi was planted during a visit that Reddy made to Nodekoppalu village in the Mandya district of Karnataka, the home town of the film's co-writer Eregowda. Reddy found the village, seen through the eyes of an insider, to contain within itself a highly cinematic world. Reddy then did a year-long stint at Prague Film School. Upon returning, he re-visited the area frequently, conducting a three-month exploratory process to better acquaint himself with the world. During this process, Eregowda and Reddy met and decided to revolve the film around three protagonists, Channegowda (Gaddappa), Thammegowda S. (Thammanna), and Abhishek H.N. (Abhi), even before the idea for the story of the film had taken shape. Keeping the true life personalities of these three leads in mind, Reddy and Eregowda then began developing a screenplay that revolved around the death and thithi of a 101-year old cantankerous centenarian, Century Gowda. After Reddy and Eregowda finished the script, they had an ambitious 160 page screenplay with over a hundred characters. They then moved into pre-production work which included an eight-month long casting process to find actors to fill out smaller roles and putting together a crew for the film. At this stage, DoP Doron Tempert, Reddy's batchmate from Prague Film School, joined the development process and started building the story-telling style and approach with Reddy.

Production started in Nodekoppalu in January 2014. The film was shot in multiple schedules split over a period of five months, the longevity of the shoot owing to the logistical challenges of working with non-actors. When the film was in the rough cut stage, the film made it into NFDC's Film Bazaar where it was adjudged as the Best Work In Progress fiction feature and awarded a free Digital Intermediate at Prasad Labs, Mumbai. The film, still a work-in-progress, premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in August, and then went on to have its Indian Premiere at the Mumbai Film Festival. The film was finally completed in December 2015.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The Times of India
Deccan Chronicle
IANS
Hindustan Times
Slant Magazine
Rediff
MUBI
Vijaya Karnataka
Bangalore Mirror
The Indian Express

Thithi has received largely positive reviews on the International front with The Hollywood Reporter calling it "a whimsically enjoyable encounter with some slippery backwoods characters." Clayton Dillard of Slant Magazine gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and said that "the film packs in a miniseries worth of conflict" and that it "possesses the spirit of Yasujirō Ozu." In an enthusiastic review, Daniel Kasman from MUBI had this to say: "A film that is funny, humane, and seemingly effortless, this young director has coaxed from a massive cast and a specific setting a great deal of character, an evocation of a locality and its society, and wrapped it all in a Renoirian understanding of human behaviour. The film is a real pleasure." The Variety review by Dennis Harvey praised the film for being "a clever social satire" that is "complexly plot-driven yet never hectic or over-contrived." The review went on to commend the performers by saying that "they're all such naturals it's almost hard to believe they came to the project as amateurs."

The film was received with utmost enthusiasm by the Indian press on its release in Karnataka as well. In a 4.5 star review for Times Of India, Sunayana Suresh compared the film to the classic The Gods Must Be Crazy "as a film that triumphs as both a clever narrative and a hearty entertainer." In yet another 4.5 star review, Shyam Prasad S. of Bangalore Mirror called the film "an experience to savour." The film was called "a milestone for Kannada cinema" by Deccan Herald, while The New Indian Express declared it to be "one of the finest films to come out of India in recent times."

Awards and nominations

Thithi premiered at the 68th Locarno International Film Festival on 8 August 2015, where it won the Golden Leopard in the "Filmmakers of the Present" category as well as the First Feature award. It has also won numerous other awards at various film festivals including Mumbai, Palm Springs, and Marrakech. It was also invited to be a part of the 45th edition of New Directors/New Films. At the 19th Shanghai International Film Festival, Thithi won the Best Script Writer and the Best Film awards under the Asia New Talent Awards Category. It won the German Star of India award for the Best Feature Film at the 13th Indian Film Festival Stuttgart, Germany. At the 63rd National Film Awards, the film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada It bagged the First Best Film, Best Supporting Actress and Best Dialogue awards at the 2016 Karnataka State Film Awards.

References

1. "Thithi director Raam Reddy on awards and more". 26 February 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
2. "Thithi Movie Review, Trailer, & Show timings at Times of India". The Times of India. Sunayana Suresh. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
3. "Thithi movie review: Entertainment with 'real' fun". SHASHIPRASAD SM. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
4. "'Thithi': Ground-breaking, rule-bending masterpiece". IANS Live. Subhash K. Jha. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
5. "Thithi review: A pithy and pungent satire on poverty". Subhash K Jha. 4 June 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
6. "Thithi | Film Review | Slant Magazine". Slant Magazine. Clayton Dillard. 9 March 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
7. "Thithi: What a win!". Rediff. Sreehari Nair. 4 June 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
8. "Thithi". Adrian Curry, Daniel Kasman. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
9. "ತಿಥಿ ವಿಮರ್ಶೆ: ಇದೊಂದು ಮಿಸ್ ಮಾಡಲೇಬಾರದ ಚಿತ್ರ-Movie Review" (in Kannada). Shashidhar Chitradurga. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
10. "Movie Review: Thithi - Bangalore Mirror -". Bangalore Mirror. Shyam Prasad S. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
11. "'Thithi' Review: Filmmaking at its best". The New Indian Express. Sharadha Srinidhi. 3 June 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
12. "'Thithi': Mumbai Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
13. "Thithi | Film Review | Slant Magazine". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
14. "Locarno 2015. Day 4 on Notebook". MUBI. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
15. "Kannada Film 'Thithi' Wins Two Awards at Locarno International Film Fest". 16 August 2015. Archived from the original on 19 August 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
16. "'Thithi' is Best Kannada Film at NFA". 29 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
17. "'Thithi' Wins Best Film Award At First BRICS Film Festival". Huffington Post.
18. "audience award - C:india". C:india (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 October 2016.

External links

• Thithi at IMDb

• 2015 films
• 2010s Kannada-language films
• Golden Leopard winners
• Films shot in Karnataka
• Indian comedy-drama films
• 2015 comedy-drama films
• Best Kannada Feature Film National Film Award winners
• 2015 directorial debut films