By Baiju NT [ July 30, 2008 ]
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Before the Rains: Huge hit in Britain

Cinematographer-turned-director Santosh Sivan’s English film Before the Rains has turned out to be a huge hit in Britain where it was released in 18 theatres last Friday. The film has got rave reviews despite the fact that 20 percent of the dialogues in the movie are in Malayalam and Tamil, reports said.

The film was also a big hit in the US when it was released in May. This 98-minute film, set in the 1930s and shot in the picturesque hill station of Munnar, Kerala, had its world premiere at the 32nd Toronto International Film Festival in September last year.

Roache, who attracted media attention in the BBC television series called 'Seaforth' (1994), reportedly quoted as saying that Before the Rains was his best ever work in his two decades in the film industry.

Written by the late Cathy Rabin, the movie tells the story of Britisher Henry Moores (Linus Roache), an ambitious entrepreneur who plans to build a road through the mountain that will eventually be used to carry tea and spices. While his wife is away in England with their son, he begins an affair with the local housemaid Sajani (Nandita Das). Moores' right-hand man T.K. Neelan (Rahul Bose), an idealistic young Indian educated in the West, is caught in the crossfire when the ultra-orthodox village leaders hear of the transgression. What all happens after this forms the rest of the plot.

“People have now begun asking details about the location; the beauty of the place has attracted many who wish to see it. It is great to see a English-Malayalam movie running in main theatres in the West,” said Santosh Sivan, four-time National award winner for Best Cinematography for Perumthachan (1991), Kalapani (1996), Iruvar (1998) and Dil Se (1999). His next film Tahaan, shot in Jammu and Kashmir, is expected to be a big Bollywood release in October.