Thithi Is A Ground-Breaking, Rule-Bending Slice Of Savage Life Masterpiece
Thithi(Kannada)
Starring: real people
Directed by Raam Reddy
There are no actors , at least none that I could catch acting, in debutant director Raam Reddy’s Thithi, that 13th day feast after a death in the family when relatives friends and strangers are fed to burp so that the dead one’s soul departs peacefully.
[wp-review id=”1856″]
And never mind the family of the deceased whose soul is sometimes sold off to collect funds for the 13th day binge.
In the way non-actors “play” characters in Thithi the film comes closest to Mahesh Tamhane’s Marathi film Courtlast year. Coincidentally that film too had a wizened nomadic non-conformist man at its helm . The greying bearded man in Thithi is Gadappa(Chanegowda) whose restless wanderings across the impoverished village in Karnatakagives to this bare austere and unassuming film a sense of imminent intangibility.
Permanence, says Gadappa’s attitude without actually stating it,is a futile pursuit. Gadappa’s sonThamanna(Thammegodwa) wants the ancestral land to tide him over his financial hardships even it means killing off his father, on paper at least.
There are many moments in the visuals that capture the underbelly of the heartland with an complete absence of pride or prejudice.Men who feel a nirvanic ecstasy at the thought of a non-vegetarian meal, women who cook for and bully their husbands as a part of a day’s work, and youngsters who cut down wood and wade into ravines to supplement the family’s meager income.
This is not the brand of poverty Bollywood is comfortable with.
The quirky plot is unparalleled by anything we’ve seen so far in Indian cinema of any genre or language. DirectorRaam Reddy is remarkably dispassionate in his pursuit of the essence of existence in a plot that scoffs at all attempts to find a moral centre. While the great-grandfather dies at 100(hence named Century Gowda in the village that never seems short of excitement even without the invasion of the internet) the grandfather Gadappa wishes torenunciate all family obligations to live the life of a gypsy while his son Thamanna pursues the family’s property with life-sustaining urgency. As for the youngest scion of the family Abhi he is so horny he can’t think straight and spends his time stalking a shepherd girl Kaveri .
They do f..k at the end , before life fucks them over.
As I read the above plotline I find the description to be most unsuitable to describe what really happens in Thithi as the male members of one impoverish rural family in a village of Karnataka uncovers their innermost cravings from greed to lust in a thrust of fate that moves calmly across the film’s craggy skyline in a ziz-zag of unvarnished emotions, too deep for hysteria or melodrama but never too sacred for savage satire.
Death is treated as a kind of running gag in the raw storytelling. The first 10 minutes shows the leery uncouth great-grandfather taunting and heckling every passerby before dropping dead. No one is sorry to see this man go after he has clearly overstayed his welcome. What follows can be termed as a funereal farce or a cremation comedy of errors where the desperation of poverty eventuates in a bankruptcy of grace in dealing with bereavement.
These are people who don’t care if people are looking while they sort out their insurmountable problems. The camera never lies in preparation for an emotional ambush.Cinematographer Doron Tempert is happy to look at the unsophisticated characters with a complete absence of fuss and finesse. Thithi is a pithy and pungent satire on the premium we place on human life when it is besieged by poverty.
Miraculously director Raam Reddy weaves a love story between a porn-addicted village boy and a remarkably unspoilt gypsy girl into his brew of bizarre bereavement.These are people who will find their pleasures even as life pulls them down to the ground and crushes their desires.
I don’t know how the director has done what he has done in Thithi: you know, make a film that doesn’t look sound or smell like a film. But Raam Reddy has done it. And we can only bow our heads in reverence .
Every year there is one outstanding non-Bollywood film that throws forward a socio- cultural dilemma in a style so direct and blunt that it doesn’t feel like cinema.Thithi is that rare achievement of 2016.It is so real,it is unreal!

Exclusive Premium Content
Why On Earth Is Sushmita Sen Smoking A Cigar In Aarya’s First Look?

Season 3 of Aarya is being shot as you read this, and naturally Sushmita Sen is super-kicked about it, so kicked that she has put out a video where she is seen in the best Lady Boss version of herself.
Alarmingly, she is seen puffing away at a cigar, to complete her Badass Lady Boss image.
There was a time when women smoking cigarettes in Hindi cinema signaled vampishness. If a female actor was shown smoking it meant she had evil designs over the hero, and life in general.
Sushmita being Sushmita, a cigarette won’t do. A cigar it is, to go with her formidable image. The last Bollywood actor I saw smoking a cigar on screen was Premnath in the 1970s. Back then so many people didn’t die of cancer by smoking.
These are different far more dangerous and deadly times.
Sushmita is an iconic actor.She needs to be more careful about the image she projects . Smoking a cigar doesn’t enhance a woman’s(or a man’s) muscle power. Nor does it make her look cool.
About shooting for the third season of Aarya Sushmita says, “Aarya is synonymous with my name. I have lived as Aarya for two whole seasons and the love received by the audiences has only encouraged me to do more. Walking on the sets of Aarya Season 3 makes me feel at home and gives me a sense of empowerment. I’m grateful to the entire team at Disney+ Hotstar, Ram Madhvani Films and Endemol Shine India for the vision of creating Aarya and taking it to newer heights with every season.”
Exclusive Premium Content
Shah Rukh, Deepika, John Will Meet The Media On Monday At 4 pm(But There’s A Catch)

Pathaan has effectually discredited the efficacy of media interactions to promote a film. The film’s lead actors Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham did not conduct any press or portal interviews to promote the film.
And yet Pathaan is a blockbuster.
This weekend the Pathaan producer Aditya Chopra of Yash Raj Films took a call on behalf of the Pathaan team to do one media meet at the Taj Land’s End in Mumbai on Monday January 30 at 4 pm.
The three principal actors and director Siddharth Malhotra will address the media.
But here’s the catch: the media will not be allowed to ask any questions. There will be no Q& A s or one-on-one interactions.This basically means that the Pathaan team will have an opportunity to say what it wants to the media. But the media will have no say.
Make what you will of this one-way traffic.
A source close to Yash Raj informs me that this is the pattern regarding the media that Yash Raj will follow for future releases: no press meets no promotional engagements.
Exclusive Premium Content
Fake Projects of Pathaan Director Being Planted In Media

Siddharth Anand Denies Considering Any Project With Deepak Mukut
A word of caution to those marketing and publicity wizkids who think it’s okay to plant fake stories on (fake) projects with the Pathaan director.
It is not.
Such baseless announcements are meant only to raise the equity of the producers with whom Siddharth Anand’s name is linked. One such producer whose name has cropped up after the spectacular success of Pathaan is Deepak Mukut.
There were reports everywhere that Siddharth Anand’s next would be with Mukut.
Turned out to be a false rumour.
A source in the know informs, “Siddharth now has to complete Fighter starring Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone for Yash Raj.Then he is committed to direct the sequel to War 2 for Yash Raj films. They will then start work on the next film in the Pathaan franchise. There is no scope or room for any outside projects for Siddharth Anand. So every announcement that you read of a new film to be directed by Siddharth Anand for an outside producer is likely to be a hundred percent fake.”
When I asked Siddharth Anand about the supposed project with producer Deepak Mukut he promptly replied, “NOT AT ALL.”
Exclusive Premium Content
Pink Director’s Next Featuring Yami As A Crime Reporter To Stream From February 16

Anniruddha Roy Chowdhury whose Pink featuring Amitabh Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu was one of the most important films of 2016, is all set to release his next Hindi film.
Entitled Lost, Anniruddha’s film , based on true events, will see Yami Gautam Dhar(that’s what the actress calls herself after her marriage) as a crime journalist. LOST is an emotional social thriller that represents a higher quest, a search for lost values of empathy and integrity.
Inspired by true events, Lost is a story of a bright young woman crime reporter in her relentless search for the truth behind the sudden disappearance of a young theatre activist.

Lost
Says Aniruddha “The shoot of LOST has been an incredible journey. I have been eager for the release of our hard-worked venture. The film is a realistic highlight of media in a social context and I am sure that it will give the audience a compelling watch. I am curious about its release and see the responses it shall get. I hope they will welcome it with open hearts.”
Yami Gautam Dhar who plays the lead of the crime reporter says, “I can’t be happier and more proud of the film’s selection for the opening night at CSAFF. I feel like its one that the people will connect to and will be the one that you cannot miss, especially in the current age and time. I have loved playing this role because it was such a special experience, it allowed me to explore so many layers of emotions as an actor and the entire team has worked really hard on it. I genuinely cannot wait for the film’s release, especially to see the reactions of the audience to it.”
The crime investigation drama boasts a stellar cast. Along with Yami, the film will feature Pankaj Kapur, Rahul Khanna, and an ensemble of younger talent, including Neil Bhoopalam, Pia Bajpai, and Tushar Pandey, in pivotal roles.
-
Exclusive Premium Content5 days ago
Pathaan Is A Slick Spin On SRK’s Stardom
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
Has Mahesh Bhatt Undergone Heart Surgery? Bhatt Clarifies
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
Would Gautam Tinnanuri’s Film Save Vijay Deverakonda’s Career?
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
What Happened To Hera Pheri 3?
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
On To The Oscar, RRR Team To Focus On Naatu Naatu
-
Exclusive Premium Content6 days ago
Chhatriwali So Earnest Yet So Awful
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
Mission Majnu: Crossborder Rom-Kaum
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
Hema Malini On Working With Ramesh Sippy
-
Exclusive Premium Content6 days ago
India Shines bright at the Oscars
-
Exclusive Premium Content6 days ago
No Leading Lady For Akshay Kumar In C Sankaran Nair Bio-pic
-
Exclusive Premium Content4 days ago
5 Most Relevant Patriotic Songs
-
Exclusive Premium Content4 days ago
“Professionally, What A Year It Has Been For Me,” Raveena Tandon On Her Padma Shri
-
Exclusive Premium Content4 days ago
Pathaan Collects 55 crore nett in India On Day 1
-
Bollywood News4 days ago
Undekhi A Dark Compelling Thriller Set In The Heartland
-
Exclusive Premium Content5 days ago
Will Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan Break All His Previous Records?
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
To Avoid Questions On Nepotism, Raj Santoshi Keeps His Daughter Out Of Media interactions
-
Exclusive Premium Content4 days ago
Salman-Shah Rukh’s Hilarious Take On The Khan Hegemony
-
Topics4 days ago
Movierulz 2021: Download Movies for Free
-
Bollywood News4 days ago
Stephanie Beacham’s Net Worth (Updated 2021)
-
Bollywood News4 days ago
Phil Ivey’s Net Worth (Updated 2021)