samskara (english title: funeral rites) is a 1970 kannada-language film written by u. r. ananthamurthy based on his eponymous novel, and directed and produced by pattabhirama reddy. singeetam srinivasa rao was executive director for the film. it is considered a path-breaking film that pioneered the parallel cinema movement in kannada. "samskara" won the national film award for best feature film (1970).