The Rite... A Passion is the directorial debut from Indian film critic K.N.T. Sastry. The film received the Indira Gandhi Award for the Best First Feature Film. Subbaiah is a priest who goes from funeral to funeral, to study and practice the tradition of washing the sins of the deceased. He has a son named Raghuram who is associated with a terrorist organization. While Subbaiah is content with his social position and a firm follower of traditional rules, Raghuram will use even violence to change the society. Of course there are conflicts between the two, and greater danger seems to lie ahead for them. Subbaiah blindly accepts the traditional rules that he defends, but this is what eventually brings tragedy to him and his family. Subbaiah falls deep into a well of confusion but there is no one to save him. Through a seemingly unsophisticated style, The Rite... A Passion dispassionately reveals an India caught in the confusing crossroads between tradition and modernity. (Kim Young-jin)