Thithi (film)

Thithi (Funeral) is a 2015 Indian

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, 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

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
MUBI	[8]
Vijaya Karnataka	[9]
Bangalore Mirror	[10]
The Indian Express	[11]

Thithi has received largely positive reviews on the International front with

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

External links

• Thithi at
  IMDb