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76% Critic Match
One Day Before the Rainy Season
“A beautifully shot tragic retelling of Mohan Rakesh's Hindi play on Kalidasa's lover Mallika and their relationship.”
7.6 / 10• 1971• 1h 54m•NR• Hindi
Drama
Storyline
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.
Cast & Crew
Rekha Sabnis
Mallika
Lead
Arun Khopkar
Kalidasa
Om Shivpuri
Vilom
Aruna Irani
Ambika
AK
Anuradha Kapoor
—
US
Uma Sahaay
—
HB
Hemant Bose
—
SD
Surendra Dheer
—
What People Are Saying
4.0
“A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Mani Kaul's vision lands with breathtaking precision.”
4.0
“Every frame feels alive. One Day Before the Rainy Season is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.”
