"Samskara" (1970) & "Grahana" (1978)

These two Kannada films start with the problems of the funerals of people who died in ambiguous circumstances. The first film, too well known, deals with a born brahmin, who did not lead a conventional life & had no children to conduct his obsequies.

The second film, lesser known, was the directorial debut of Nagabharana, now one of the best film-makers in the language, assisted by Girish Kasaravalli, who also rose to eminence later.

There was curious custom earlier, whereby in a certain area, a Brahmin girl, if not married before puberty, was blindfolded & abandoned in a forest by her parents. One such girl was found & rescued by the "untouchables." As a consequence of this, periodically six selected "untouchables" were invested with the sacred thread, taught the Gayathri mantra & converted into Brahmins for a few days.

The problem started when one of the six died during his temporary brahminhood. The brahmins refused to do his obsequies & so did the "untouchables". The body remained so for a day, when the Patel's son, a progressive, brought the police & got the body removed. This earned him the ire of all the village & he was barred from the village. The film deals with the aftermath, with grave economic & social consequences.