Before the Rains (2007)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Santosh Sivan

Writers (WGA):

Cathy Rabin (screenplay)
Dan Verete (2001 film "Asphalt Zahov")

Release Date:

16 May 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Passion has its price.

Plot:

A English spice baron settles in South India during the waning years of the Raj.

Plot Keywords:

British | India | British Raj | Affair | British Colonial

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Linus Roache	...	Henry Moores
Rahul Bose	...	T. K. Neelan
Nandita Das	...	Sajani
Jennifer Ehle	...	Laura Moores
Leopold Benedict	...	Peter Moores
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dr. Ambikathmajan	...	T.K.'s Headmaster
Indrajith	...	Manas
Lakshmi Krishnamurthy	...	T.K.'s mom
Lal	...	Rajat (as Lal Paul)
John Standing	...	Charles Humphries
Thilakan	...	T.K.'s Father
Ejji K. Umamahesh	...	Inspector Sampath

Directed by
Santosh Sivan

Writing credits (WGA)
Cathy Rabin		(screenplay)
Dan Verete		(2001 film "Asphalt Zahov") (as Dany Vert)

Produced by
Mark Burton	....	producer
Steven Cohen	....	associate producer
Howard Frumes	....	executive producer
Paul Hardart	....	producer
Tom Hardart	....	producer
Doug Mankoff	....	producer
Pauline Piechota	....	co-producer
Ashok Rao	....	executive producer
Mubina Rattonsey	....	co-producer
Andrew Spaulding	....	producer
Jessica Stamen	....	co-producer
Milind Vereker	....	line producer
Jane Villiers	....	executive producer
Amotz Zakai	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Mark Kilian

Cinematography by
Santosh Sivan		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Steven Cohen
A. Sreekar Prasad

Casting by
Daniel Hubbard		(as Dan Hubbard)

Production Design by
Sunil Babu

Costume Design by
Satheesh S.B.		(as S.B. Satheesan)

Production Management
Ian Kennedy	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mohammed Kamal	....	first assistant director (as Kamal Mohammed)

Sound Department
Caoimhe Doyle	....	foley artist
Brian Dunlop	....	assistant sound editor
David Esparza	....	sound effects supervisor
Robert Jackson	....	supervising dialogue editor
John Ross	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Schwartz	....	sound
Leslie Shatz	....	supervising sound editor
Melissa Sherwood Hofmann	....	sound re-recording mixer
Don White	....	foley recording mixer

Visual Effects by
Rachel Clement	....	digital cleanup artist

Camera and Electrical Department
Alphonse Roy	....	second unit photographer
Anjuli Shukla	....	first assistant camera

Casting Department
Kelly Valentine Hendry	....	casting associate

Editorial Department
Dennis Little	....	digital intermediate production coordinator
Jon Pehlke	....	on-line editor
Sarah Priestnall	....	production supervisor: digital intermediate
Kurt Tuffendsam	....	digital intermediate project manager

Music Department
Christine Bergren	....	music clearances
Roman Kovalik	....	assistant to composer
Jonathan Schultz	....	score consultant
Matt Shelton	....	music editor
Casey Stone	....	music scoring mixer

Other crew
Prince Bagdasarian	....	film and high definition coordinator
Maryann C. Fondulas	....	u.s. accountant
J.P. Pettinato	....	production consultant
Arturo Lopez Uscanga	....	scanning manager

Thanks
Alpita Patel	....	special thanks
Vijay Venkataramanan	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Merchant Ivory Productions (presents) (as Merchant Ivory)
• Adirondack Pictures (in association with)
• Excalibur Pictures (in association with)
• Santosh Sivan Productions (in association with)
• Echo Lake Entertainment

Distributors

• Roadside Attractions (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Les Films Séville (2008) (Canada) (theatrical) (French-speaking region)
• Maximum Film Distribution (2008) (Canada) (theatrical) (English-speaking region)
• FS Film Oy (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• Metrodome Distribution (2008) (UK) (all media)
• Paradox Entertainment Group (2008) (Canada) (DVD)

Other Companies

• 424  sound re-recording

Also Known As:

Road to the Sky (UK) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violent content and a scene of sexuality.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

India | UK | USA

Language:

Malayalam | English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | UK:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-13

Filming Locations:

India

Company:

Merchant Ivory Productions

Movie Connections:

Remake of Asphalt Zahov (2001)

Fighting loneliness in 1937. A Rough Road!

Before the Rains is a beautifully made drama set in south India in 1937. An engrossing story, it shows us what India was like and awakens our interest in foreign lands. But what stuck in MY mind was the extreme difficulty of having a sexual/romantic encounter in this time and place.

Young people these days take their sex fast and casual. There is no way they can ever understand the restraints of the pre-1960 era (let alone 1937). And this was the case in India, or in the USA. With most women married well before their 18th birthday, with marriage being respected by society, with the remaining single people mostly being (obvious) born losers, non or extra marital sex was virtually impossible, and could lead to the serious and multi-complicated downfalls portrayed in this movie. Easy to say had the lovers handled things wiser or smarter their ultimate problems might have been easier. But wait, they DID handle their situation wisely......