A literary film based on a play in three acts, One Day Before the Rainy Season (Ashad Ka Ek Din) portrays the love of Mallika and Kalidasa, the renowned Sanskrit poet and dramatist. Vilom, a friend to both and interested in Mallika, is a passive onlooker for the first two acts. Kalidasa leaves his verdant mountain valley home for the splendour of far off Ujjain, where he wins fame. The action of the film is rooted in the village to which Kalidasa returns years later and finds Mallika married to Vilom and the mother of his child. Mallika sacrificed her love so that the poet could pursue his muse.
Directed by Mani Kaul
biography
tragedy
parallel cinema
drama
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Letterboxd
4.0 / 5
Cast
Rekha Sabnis
Mallika
Arun Khopkar
Kalidasa
Om Shivpuri
Vilom
Aruna Irani
Ambika
Pinchoo Kapoor
Crew
Mani Kaul
Director
Mani Kaul
Writer
Popular Reviews
2 reviews
polina
10.0★ · 08/30/25
today is my birthday. and I'm glad that this is the first film I finished watching In the age of seventeen… there are so many quotes about eyes in the dialogues. I will continue to reflect on their deep symbolism and significance in Indian culture.
‘I was afraid your eyes might add up to the restlessness of my heart’> *‘I wish
If you could see your eyes’*the eyes are a reflection of the soul. they can say something so subtle and barely perceptible that it's impossible to express in words.
*‘….many of Ambika’s unspoken words
come to my lips’*In Indian culture, the eyes are generally associated with wisdom. spirituality and a sense of something beyond other people's control and knowledge. this is an especially significant aspect in a film about my favorite topic, artistic uncertainty. people resort to art because what they see around them isn't enough. they want to be higher than that.
I find a few similarities between mid-20th century Indian cinema and the japanese new wave, but I am not as familiar with either as I would want. this is the type of film that cannot be retold. you can feel it in your bones even a week after watching it thought. In the hands of Mani Kaul and some other filmmakers, cinema genuinely becomes a language that exists to convey thoughts that cannot be expressed in any other way. and god, it is beautiful. one of the films I recommend seeing to get a deeper understanding of myself is definitely this one. because it embodies everything I love about cinema and serves as an excellent source of inspiration for my future work. the concentration on nature and humanity, the depiction of women's life path, and the beautiful and often complex conversation make it feel so alive and tangible on a mental level.
today is my birthday. and I'm glad that this is the first film I finished watching In the age of seventeen… there are so many quotes about eyes in the dialogues. I will continue to reflect on their deep symbolism and significance in Indian culture.
‘I was afraid your eyes might add up to the restlessness of my heart’> *‘I wish
If you could see your eyes’*the eyes are a reflection of the soul. they can say something so subtle and barely perceptible that it's impossible to express in words.
*‘….many of Ambika’s unspoken words
come to my lips’*In Indian culture, the eyes are generally associated with wisdom. spirituality and a sense of something beyond other people's control and knowledge. this is an especially significant aspect in a film about my favorite topic, artistic uncertainty. people resort to art because what they see around them isn't enough. they want to be higher than that.
I find a few similarities between mid-20th century Indian cinema and the japanese new wave, but I am not as familiar with either as I would want. this is the type of film that cannot be retold. you can feel it in your bones even a week after watching it thought. In the hands of Mani Kaul and some other filmmakers, cinema genuinely becomes a language that exists to convey thoughts that cannot be expressed in any other way. and god, it is beautiful. one of the films I recommend seeing to get a deeper understanding of myself is definitely this one. because it embodies everything I love about cinema and serves as an excellent source of inspiration for my future work. the concentration on nature and humanity, the depiction of women's life path, and the beautiful and often complex conversation make it feel so alive and tangible on a mental level.
