Girish Kasaravalli, born on December 3rd, 1950 in Thirthahalli, Karnataka, is an Indian film director active in the Kannada cinema industry. His first film as an independent director after his studies was Ghatashraddha in 1977 - the film was a huge hit. He has won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film four times and was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award by Government of India.