A rip-roaring black comedy

Thithi
Kannada (U/A), Director: Raam Reddy
Cast: Thammegowda S,
Channegowda, Abhishek H N , Pooja S M

Thithi is a milestone for Kannada cinema. After accumulating awards, it has finally hit the theatres. And what a cinema Thithi is!

At the heart of it is a simple, soulful story revolving around three generations of a family. What makes Thithi special is the way in which debutant Raam Reddy has made his comical vaudeville an entertaining and educating one, capturing the colourful vignettes of village life.

It is a black, satirical comedy of one man’s greed and filial foibles, at whose core is the doddering old man Century Gowda. Limited to just the first few minutes of the film, his is a character you will never forget in your lifetime. Beginning with the man’s uproarious introduction, director Raam Reddy ensures that Thithi is sheer joi de vivre.

The film is about how the family and village prepare reverentially for the funeral rites of Century Gowda, culminating on the 11th day of his death.

Impervious to the death is Gadappa, Gowda’s cagey son. Sporting a white mane and beard, Gadappa is a restless soul, swilling local liquor and smoking cigarettes like chimney.  His son Thammanna sees in his grandfather’s death an opportunity to grab the family’s precious patch of land, though it is legally in his father Gadappa’s name. While he goes about scheming to wrest it, his teenaged son Abhi is busy gambling away his father’s hard-earned money, watching seedy clips and pursuing shepherd girl Cauvery, the film’s classic romantic track.

Does Thammanna get to lay his hand on the patch? Is Abhi able to woo Cauvery? What happens to the funeral ? — this is where the movie gets its dark title from.
Thithi is a kind of cinema that comes only once in a while. Awaiting an encore.