Santosh Sivan's first Hollywood film to premier in Toronto festival

The world premiere of ace cameraman and film maker Santosh Sivan's first Hollywood film "Before the Rains" will be held at the 32nd Toronto International Film Festival in September this year.

Sivan told IANS that his film would be screened along with eight other films as part of two gala presentations and six special presentations at the festival, to be held from September 6 to 15.

"I am extremely delighted. More so because my film has Malayalam actors in it and will be screened on a world platform," he said.

"Before the Rains" is a period film set in 1937 and has a cast that includes actors from the US, Britain and India. Malayalam actors Thilakan, Lal and Indrajit are in the movie.

The film has been shot in the picturesque Munnar hill station of Idukki district and focuses on the dilemma of people who straddle two worlds. The US-based Echo Lake Productions, Adirondack Pictures and Santosh Sivan have produced the movie jointly.

"It is about a British planter (Linus Roache), who wants to commercially tap the produce of Kerala's high ranges, mainly spices, and he is assisted by an Indian (Rahul Bose). It also delves into relationships of his wife (Jennifer Ehle), his lover (Nandita Das) and his aide," said Sivan.

British actor Linus Roache who attracted media attention in the BBC television series "Seaforth" (1994) has gone on record saying that his work in "Before the Rains" is his best ever in his two decades in the film industry.

Indo-Asian News Service