Before the Rains
Dir Santosh Sivan, feat Linus Roache, Rahal Bose, Jennifer Ehle
By Nick Dent
A British spice grower in India, Moores (Linus Roache), hopes to expand his business prospects by building a road through the jungle. He's also carrying on an affair with his married housekeeper Sajani (Nandita Das), an indiscretion that his trusted employee Neelan (Rahal Bose) keeps under wraps. When Sajani's infidelity is discovered by her husband, Moores' plans look set to unravel in scandal unless Sajani can be made to disappear, and Neelan finds his loyalties divided to breaking point.
The first English language film for director Santosh Sivan, Before the Rains is set in 1937 during the final days of the Raj, when Indians were kicking back against their British masters. Moores' affair with Sajani is meant to mirror the love-hate relationship of the colonials and the natives, a relationship that is more about exploitation on the Englishman's side. Seamlessly adapted from an Israeli short film and beautifully shot in the hills of Kerala, Before the Rains has the moral overtones of an EM Forster story but is curiously lacking in emotional force.
Screening from 8 Jan.
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