Before the Rains
Before the Rains is a 2007 Indian-British period drama film directed by Santosh Sivan. The film is adapted from a story from the 2001 anthology Israeli film Asphalt Zahov.
It was filmed on location in Kerala, India and was released in cinemas in India, the US and the UK.
Plot
Before the Rains is set in 1930s Malabar District of the Madras Presidency of British India, against the backdrop of a growing nationalist movement. An idealistic young Indian man, T.K. (Rahul Bose) finds himself torn between his ambitions for the future and his loyalty to tradition when people in his village learn of an affair between his British boss and close friend Henry Moores (Linus Roache) and a married village woman Sajani (Nandita Das).
Henry and T.K. are working on building a road in rural Kerala. The start of the film focuses on the affair between Henry and his house maid Sajani. They make love near a waterfall, witnessed by two children who flee. Both Henry and Sajani are married to different partners and both know of each other's marriages. Henry's wife and son return from their vacation in England. Sajani is distraught but Henry assures Sajani that she is the one he loves. Sajani's violent husband finds out about her infidelity and brutally beats her. Sajani flees to Henry's house; Henry instructs T.K. to take her away into hiding. T.K tells Sajani never to come back as she is now disgraced and her presence in the village will endanger Henry's life. Sajani does not believe T.K but leaves nonetheless. During this time, resentment towards the British grows stronger; news about an adulterous act between an Indian woman and a British man would be inflammatory.
Podcasts:
The Rains
by: Fred EaglesmithWell, it hadn't rained in as many Sundays as the preacher he had prayed
But it didn't matter 'cause nobody prayed it anyway
Some danced and some sang
Some threw silver rings
And the corn got yella and the wheat all died
And the sun dried up the springs
When the rains came
The whole town lost it's mind
Poured gasoline down Main Street
And we set it up on fire
When the rains came
How were we to know
We'd held on for so long
And just to let it go
When the rains came
And they called in the state troopers
And they called in the police
And they arrested everybody
My brothers and me
And when we got to court
And they put us on the stand
We just looked at each other
Started laughing once again
'Cause when the rains came
The whole town lost it's mind
Poured gasoline down Main Street
And we set it up on fire
When the rains came
How were we to know
We'd held on for so long
And just to let it go
When the rains came
Some say it's a tragedy
Some say it's a shame
Some say it's the water
We never got to drink
Some blame Jesus
Some blame the rock and roll
I think we were just trying to get
A little bit of control
So, when the rains came
The whole town lost it's mind
Poured gasoline down Main Street
And we set it up on fire
When the rains came
How were we to know
We'd held on for so long
And just to let it go
When the rains came
When the rains came
When the rains came
When the rains came