The Ritual (Ghatashraddha) Special Edition (UK Import) [Blu-ray]

The Ritual (Ghatashraddha) Special Edition Blu-ray presents Girish Kasaravalli’s 1977 Kannada drama in a UK import region free release. Presented from a new 4K restoration by Film Heritage Foundation, Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project and George Lucas’ Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation, the film is recognized as a key work of Indian Parallel Cinema.

In rural India, a lonely young boy studying at a religious school forms an unlikely friendship with the headmaster’s widowed daughter. Bullied by his classmates and isolated within a strict environment, he finds comfort in their connection, while she quietly struggles against the rigid expectations placed upon her.

Spare, haunting and deeply critical of social orthodoxy, The Ritual explores caste, ritual purity, loneliness and the consequences of moral control through an intimate coming-of-age story. This Special Edition Blu-ray includes the restored feature, newly filmed director interview, new subtitle translation and 20-page booklet.

directed by: Girish Kasaravalli
1977 / 115 min / Kannada 2.0 Dual-Mono LPCM Audio / 1-Disc Region Free Blu-ray Special Edition