Before the Rains (2007)

It is 1937 and Henry Moores, an ambitious English planter, is racing to build a road through the hills of Malabar before the monsoon arrives. His right-hand man is T. K. Neelan, an educated young villager who admires him and believes in the progress he promises. Henry is also having an affair with Sajani, his married housemaid, and when the affair is discovered, Neelan is forced to choose between loyalty to his employer and to his own people. Santosh Sivan, one of India's most acclaimed cinematographers, directed and shot the film himself, and the misty Kerala landscapes are a major part of its appeal. It is adapted from a segment of the Israeli film Yellow Asphalt, moved to colonial India, and was among the last projects to carry the Merchant Ivory name.