Before the Rains 12A

A TIP if you need to cover up the suspicious death of your mistress—never rush a policeman out the door while wittering, “Well, I do hope I’ve been of some help, Inspector.”

It happens in Before The Rains, a period drama about Moores (Linus Roache), an English spice trader in the days of the Raj, whose affair with his Indian housekeeper Sajani (Nandita Das) goes horribly wrong.

Only surprise is, it takes most of the film for the bumbling upper-class chump to get caught. Because “suspicious behaviour” doesn’t even start to cover it.

Before The Rains is a decent, well-acted, nicely shot period piece but it’s let down in one big way—it’s not quite Indian enough.

It feels much less authentic than the ace Darjeeling Limited—which was made by Wes Anderson, a bloke from Texas who’s about as Indian as a bacon double cheeseburger.