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Kashmir has never been captured on celluloid so magnificently. What’s new in that, when Santosh Sivan is the cinematographer, you might ask. Sivan has this innate capacity to capture the character of the locations he shoots his or others films in. But you have to watch Tahaan to find out what I mean.

So many films have been shot in Kashmir over the years, from those Shammi Kapoor hits to their substandard clones to recent films like Yahan, Agni Pankh and Mission Kashmir. But mostly, it has been the picture postcard image of Kashmir that has come through in most of these films. You actually cannot blame any filmmaker for following that predictable path. If I or you were to land up at such a beautiful place, we too would go berserk doing the same. Tahaan too has lots of these picture postcard moments, but then, to capture that beauty …

Before the Rains is a landscape movie, a sensuous story of love between an English spice exporter and his married Indian housemaid, shot and directed by Santhosh Sivan in God’s own country, Kerala.

Deepak Chopra in his recommendation compared the movie to E.M. Forster’s “A Passage to India” and stories like “In the Bedroom”, “Little Children”, “The Savages”, and was delighted to find such layered sophistication coming from India, via “Before the Rains”.

The official selection of Toronto International Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, Pusan Film Festival and Dubai Film Festival, Before the Rains has won 3 awards in the Houston WorldFest — Best Picture; Best Cinematography: Santosh Sivan; Best Music: Mark Kilian.

Mira Nair recalled the movie as “Unforgettable! A hothouse of sensuality, empire, class and guilt.”

NYT called it “A lavish, beautifully photographed film…”

New York Observer called it “A lovely, sweeping film. Stunning!”

And now, Santosh Sivan was interviewed by …