Before the Rains

2007 Drama

An Englishman intent on opening a spice plantation in Kerala attempts to gain the trust of the local villagers and destroys numerous lives in the process in this period drama from director/cinematographer Santosh Sivan. The year is 1937, and the power that the English wield over the citizens of India can be devastating even in the mildest of cases. Henry Moores (Linus Roache) is an entrepreneur and businessman who has singled out Kerala as the site where he plans to break ground on a potentially lucrative spice plantation. When Henry discovers that he will have to build a new road in order to make his plans feasible, he enlists the aid of trusted right-hand man T.K. (Rahul Bose) is warming the locals to the idea. The project is going to take plenty of manpower, and Henry is going to need all the help he can get. But while Henry relies on T.K. to help him realize his professional goals, his personal needs fall on the shoulders of his pretty housekeeper, Sajani (Nandita Das). One day, when their trip into the forest to collect honey takes a decidedly sensual turn, two local village boys witness the erotically charged tryst and word eventually gets back to Sanani's husband in the village. more..

Director: Santosh Sivan

Starring: Linus Roache,Rahul Bose,Nandita Das, Jennifer Ehle, John Standing

Reviews

  • Fatal culture clash, imperialist entitlement, forbidden passion between master and servant: the ingredients of the Indian director Santosh Sivan's period piece Before the Rains may be awfully familiar, but the film lends them the force of tragedy.

    Stephen Holden - The New York Times

    29 November 2012

  • Tells the kind of story that would feel right at home in a silent film, and I suppose I mean that as a compliment.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    29 November 2012

  • Sivan's film is well acted, beautifully photographed and oddly reassuring. It comes perilously close to suggesting that the injustices of colonial rule were the product of morally weak and misguided individuals rather than a system that empowered and enriched foreign interests at the expense of locals.

    Maitland McDonagh - TV Guide

    29 November 2012

  • The film's chief asset is its superbly atmospheric evocation of its period milieu.

    Frank Scheck - The Hollywood Reporter

    29 November 2012

  • A hodgepodge in the raj -- a predictable patchwork of forbidden romance, English arrogance, a gun given as a gift, suicide, corruption, deception, rising Indian nationalism and a short-lived chase through the jungle.

    - The Washington Post

    29 November 2012

Awards

  • Discovery of the Year

    World Soundtrack Awards (2008)

     
  • Best Theatrical Feature

    WorldFest Houston (2008)