The citation read, “Kasaravalli’s films, right from Ghatashraddha and Gulabi Talkies, mirror the social -conflicts during the six decades of Karnataka after Independence.”
“His films like Ghatashraddha, Hasina and Gulabi Talkies question traditions, religious rigidities and social attitudes but on a deeper level, they are universal human documents reflecting upon the sensitivity, vulnerability and complexity of human behaviour.”

Former recipients of the Foundation’s ‘Excellece in Cinema’ awards include names like Adoor Gopalakrishnan, M. S. Sathyu and Saeed Akhtar Mirza.
Foundation’s ‘Cultural Catalyst Award’ was given to Chandraprakash Dwivedi in recognition of his commitment to exploring India’s ancient culture and history in television and popular cinema.

Lalit Mohan Joshi, film historian and director of South Asian Cinema Foundation said, “As one of the foremost filmmakers of modern India, whose work stands at par with Satyajit Ray, Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Mrinal Sen, Kasaravalli deserves SACF’s Excellence in Cinema. Kasaravalli’s choice for this year’s honour is even more relevant as the central theme of SACF’s five-day events is ‘Literature and Cinema.”

All of Kasaravalli’s feature films are inspired by Kannada literature.
Participating in a conversation with Joshi after receiving the honour, Kasaravalli said that his cinema was an exploration of life with visuals.
Kasaravalli said he was very happy to visit U.K. for the first time to receive the award and be part of the first-ever retrospective of his films in London.
Five films of Kasaravalli were screened at the Watermans at West London - Gulabi Talkies (2008), Ghatashraddha (1977), Dweepa (2003), Nayi Neralu (2006) and Hasina (2005).