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{{Infobox film<br />
| name = Thilaadanam<br />
| image = <br />
| caption = <br />
| writer = Rentala Nageswara Rao (dialogues)<br />
| starring = [[H. G. Dattatreya]]<br>[[Brahmaji]]<br>[[Tanikella Bharani]]<br>[[Jaya Seal]]<br />
| director = [[K. N. T. Sastry]]<br />
| story = Rentala Nageswara Rao<br />
| screenplay = K. N. T. Sastry<br />
| producer = P. Parameswaran<br />
| cinematography = [[Sunny Joseph]]<br />
| editing = [[A. Sreekar Prasad]]<br />
| released = {{Film date|2000}}<br />
| studio = [[National Film Development Corporation of India|National Film Development Corporation]]<br />
| runtime = 1 hr 29 min<br />
| country = India<br />
| language = Telugu<br />
| music = [[L. Vaidyanathan]]<br />
}}<br />
'''''Thiladaanam''''' ([[English language|English]] title: ''The Rite... A Passion'') is a 2000 Indian [[Telugu-language]] [[drama film]], written and directed by film-critic [[K. N. T. Sastry]] in his debut directorial,<ref name="rangan1">{{cite web|url=https://www.filmcompanion.in/opinion/southern-lights-tiladaanam|title=Southern Lights: Tiladaanam|first=Baradwaj|last=Rangan|date=22 June 2017}}</ref> based on a story by Rentala Nageswara Rao.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/unheard-melodies/cid/1465328|title=Unheard melodies|website=www.telegraphindia.com}}</ref> The film features [[H. G. Dattatreya]], [[Brahmaji]], [[Tanikella Bharani]], and [[Jaya Seal]] in pivotal roles.<ref name="rangan1"/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.idlebrain.com/movie/archive/mr-tiladanam.html | title=Telugu Cinema - Review - Thila Danam - Brahmaji, Jaya Sheel, HG Dattatreya }}</ref><br />
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Upon release, the film received positive reviews and won the [[National Film Award for Best Debut Film of a Director|Best First Film of a Director]] award at the [[49th National Film Awards]]. The citation praised the film "for its juxtaposition of two diverse ideologies existing within the same family—the father's belief in his religion and traditions and his son's revolutionary ideology. The film strikes a very fine balance in inter-generational explorations."<ref name="49thawardPDF">{{cite web |title=49th National Film Awards |url=https://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/68_49thNfacatalogue.pdf |access-date=14 March 2012 |publisher=[[Directorate of Film Festivals]]}}</ref> ''Thiladaanam'' is the only Indian film to be honoured with the [[New Currents|New Currents Award]] at the 7th [[Busan International Film Festival]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=2002 Awards |url=https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_3.asp?pyear=2002 |website=Busan International Film Festival}}</ref> It was also featured in the Indian Panorama section at the [[33rd International Film Festival of India]],<ref name="IFFI 33rd">{{cite web|url=https://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/122_IPCatalogue2002.pdf|title=2002 Indian Panorama|publisher=[[Directorate of Film Festivals]]|access-date=14 March 2012}}</ref> and in a Retrospective at the [[New York Indian Film Festival]].<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=https://www.iaac.us/NYIFF2016/directors-first-films.htm|title=NYIFF 2016|website=www.iaac.us}}</ref><br />
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==Plot==<br />
Subbayya is an outcast Brahmin priest living in Hyderabad, who survives by performing ''tiladaanam'' (a Hindu ritual of giving sesame seeds as alms, which transfers the giver's sins to the receiver), the meanest form of Brahmin duty. He ekes out a living as a corpse-carrier, moving from funeral to funeral, studying and practicing the tradition of washing away the sins of the deceased. He is a staunch follower of traditional values and is content with his social position. In contrast, his son, Raghuram, is a [[Naxalite–Maoist insurgency|Naxalite]] and is willing to resort to violence to bring about societal change. This ideological conflict creates tension between father and son, with greater dangers looming ahead for the family.<br />
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Raghuram makes a clandestine visit home during the birth of his child, but in search of him, the anti-Naxalite team ransacks Subbayya's house. Although Raghuram escapes the police firing, killing a cop in the process, he eventually surrenders to the authorities, hoping that his family will receive government compensation. Shocked by his son's surrender, Subbayya dies from the trauma, leaving his daughter-in-law, Padma, waiting in vain for the promised compensation.<br />
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==Cast==<br />
{{Cast listing|<br />
*[[H. G. Dattatreya]] as Subbayya <br />
*[[Brahmaji]] as a [[Naxalite–Maoist insurgency|naxal]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/tollywood/150918/filmmaker-knt-sastry-is-no-more.html|title=Filmmaker KNT Sastry is no more!|author=Suresh Kavirayani|work=Deccan Chronicle|date=15 September 2018}}</ref><br />
*[[Tanikella Bharani]]<br />
*[[Amanchi Venkata Subrahmanyam|A. V. S.]]<br />
*[[Annapoorna (actress)|Annapoorna]]<br />
*[[Jaya Seal]] <br />
*[[Prasad Babu]]<br />
*Athili Lakshmi<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Awards==<br />
;International Honours<br />
*[[New Currents]] Award at the 7th [[Busan International Film Festival]]<ref name="auto">{{cite web |title=Kamli - My Daughter |url=http://www.apoorvachitra.com/profiles.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407105628/http://www.apoorvachitra.com/profiles.html |archive-date=7 April 2012 |access-date=2012-08-27 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><br />
*Indian Panorama section at the [[33rd International Film Festival of India]]<ref name="IFFI 33rd"/><br />
*Retrospective [[New York Indian Film Festival]]<ref name="autogenerated1"/><br />
*One-of-a-kind Indo-German Film Festival<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-life/tinsel-world-ties/article28650598.ece|title=Tinsel world ties|newspaper=The Hindu |date=16 October 2003|via=www.thehindu.com}}</ref><br />
<br />
;[[National Film Awards]]<br />
*[[Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director|Best Debut Film of a Director]] - K. N. T. Sastry<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/conscientious-filmmaker/article1998948.ece|title=Conscientious filmmaker|work=The Hindu |date=7 May 2011|via=www.thehindu.com}}</ref><br />
<br />
;[[Nandi Awards]]<br />
*[[Nandi Award for Best First Film of a Director|Best First Film of a Director]] - K. N. T. Sastry <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.idlebrain.com/news/2000march20/nandiawards2001.html |title=Telugu Cinema Etc |publisher=Idlebrain.com |date=2002-10-19 |access-date=2020-01-07}}</ref><br />
*[[Nandi Award for Best Makeup Artist|Best Makeup Artist]] - Shyam Jadcharla<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{Reflist|2}}<br />
<br />
{{National Film Award Best First Film of a Director|state=collapsed}}<br />
{{New Currents}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:2000 Telugu-language films]]<br />
[[Category:2000 films]]<br />
[[Category:Films about social realism]]<br />
[[Category:Best Debut Feature Film of a Director National Film Award winners]]<br />
[[Category:Films based on Indian novels]]<br />
[[Category:Telugu-language literature]]<br />
[[Category:Fictional portrayals of police departments in India]]<br />
[[Category:Films about Naxalism]]<br />
[[Category:Indian crime drama films]]<br />
[[Category:Films about women in India]]<br />
[[Category:2000 crime drama films]]<br />
[[Category:Films about the caste system in India]]<br />
[[Category:Films about social issues in India]]<br />
[[Category:Fictional portrayals of the Andhra Pradesh Police]]<br />
[[Category:Indian avant-garde and experimental films]]<br />
[[Category:Indian nonlinear narrative films]]<br />
[[Category:2000 directorial debut films]]<br />
[[Category:National Film Development Corporation of India films]]</div>Krishna57edits