Review: Before the Rains

Yesterday I watched “Before the Rains.” It’s a movie set in southern India about an English spice baron who tries to develop (and exploit) a spice-rich area. Along the way he gets entangled with his married maid, encourages and patronizes his Indian foreman and more.

I’d heard that the movie was panned by critics, but I decided to avoid reading the reviews and go anyway. After all, I’m a sucker for inter-racial romances, especially anything involving Indians.

I thought the movie was pretty good. The director, Santosh Sivan, did a really nice job of steering clear of easy stereotypes– the callous, brutal white man, the servile native, etc. It’s funny how a lot of the reviewers called the acting stereotypical, because I thought it was anything but. There was no grand message or great big theme– there was no big message about the important of Indian independence or what the true meaning of the word “development” is. The movie just aired everyone’s perspective and enabled the viewer to sympathise with each character in his or her moment of woe, fear or uncertainty. As a result, I had a hard time condemning or hating any character.

The acting overall was good. Rahul Bose does a good job of being the conflicted assistant– stuck between the world of his traditional family and his English boss. Nandita Das was surprisingly effective in her minescule role of paramour. Linus Roache was good, but the actors who played his wife (Jennifer Ehle), son and the banker, were just as good if not better. The British characters weren’t cardboard “Sahib” cut-outs. They had more heart and concern and conflict than one would associate with people from this time period.

That said, it’s not a movie I’d recommend to a lot of people. I think it would come off as insipid to a lot of people. The kind of movie that would make them wonder “why should I care?”

Fact is, you don’t have to. In fact, I think the reason I appreciate it as much is because I’m Indian, and I can appreciate what a departure this is from other narratives about colonialism in India.

Aside from the Indian-ness.. as I said earlier, I have a weakness for inter-racial romances. That’s why I loved Mississippi Masala, Bhaji on the Beach and of course Bend it Like Beckham. (I also liked the Namesake for similar-ish reasons).