Ghatashraddha
| Ghatashraddha | |
|---|---|
DVD cover
|
|
| Directed by | Girish Kasaravalli |
| Produced by | Sadananda Suvarna |
| Written by | U. R. Ananthamurthy |
| Screenplay by | Girish Kasaravalli |
| Based on |
Ghatashraddha by U. R. Ananthamurthy |
| Starring | Meena Kuttappa Ajith Kumar Narayana Bhat |
| Music by | B. V. Karanth |
| Cinematography | S. Ramachandra |
| Edited by | Umesh Kulkarni |
| Distributed by | Suvarnagiri Films |
|
Release date
|
1977 |
|
Running time
|
108 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Kannada |
Ghatashraddha (Kannada: ಘಟಶ್ರಾದ್ಧ, English: The Ritual) is a 1977 Indian Kannada language film directed by Girish Kasaravalli starring Meena Kuttappa, Naraya Bhat and Ajith Kumar in lead roles. It is based on a novella by eminent Kannada writer U. R. Ananthamurthy. The film was Girish Kasaravalli's first feature film as a director, and marked not only the arrival of a promising new filmmaker but also that of Kannada cinema in the India's 'New Cinema' horizon.
The film won three awards at the 25th National Film Awards, awarded for films of 1977. It won the award for Best Feature Film, Best Music Direction (B. V. Karanth) and Best Child Artist (Ajith Kumar).
In 2002, Ghatashraddha became the only Indian film to be chosen by the National Archive of Paris among 100 others, during the centenary celebrations of cinema. At the 2009 International Film Festival of India, it was announced one of the 20 best films in Indian cinema, having received 1.6 million votes.
A young Brahmin Vedic school student, who is from an aristocratic family, befriends his school master's daughter who is a pregnant widow. The boy tries but fails in concealing his friend's pregnancy. The widow has an abortion forced on her, has the eponymous ritual performed on her and is excommunicated. The student returns home as his school shuts down.
Girish Kasaravalli approached U. R. Ananthamurthy for the rights of Ghatashraddha through dramatist K. V. Subbanna. Ananthamurthy, who was in the US at the time, gave his go-ahead on hearing the screenplay from Kasaravalli, on his return to India. It was on the former's suggestion that Meena Kuttappa, his former student, was signed to play the female lead in the film.
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