Dinner and a movie

Too lazy to take a train to NY as planned, DH and I decided to make it a movie and take-out dinner night.

We settled on Sri Lankan cuisine from Sigiri Restaurant on Route 27.
Here's a review of it's sister restaurant in Manhattan:
http://www.twentyaday.com/2005/11/hoppers-take-manhattan-sri-lankan-sans.html

We recently discovered this restaurant on the way to the dentist's office and decided to try it out on the way back. Due to insufficient parking, they offer take-out only. So, about 1/2 hour later, gums still numbed by novacaine, DH and I had our first taste of Sigiri-style Sri Lankan cuisine (stringhopper kotthu, aapa and Sri Lankan crab curry)...and added it to our list of preferred restaurants. It had all the components of a winning South Asian menu. The food was prepared with different levels of pungency - mild, medium, spicy and very spicy (only a South Asian would know the difference between spicy and very spicy). The dishes sounded mouthwatering, and the taste did not disappoint.

So, munching on fish cutlet, chicken kotthu roti and lamb black curry, we watched the period movie 'Before the Rains' directed by Santosh Sivan. I was prepared for a 2 1/2 hour emotional tearfest, so the fact that the movie lasted only a little over an hour and a half was a relief. Though the plot was quite soapy and cliche, emotions were portrayed in a genuine and matter-of-fact fashion.

Nandita Das is her usual fresh, unaffected self, looking perfectly at home in the lush scenery (how does she always manage to look so young???). But how an unschooled housemaid in the 1930's can speak English so well is never explained. Rahul Bose may be more suited to films where he plays the unattached wildlife photographer (Mr & Mrs. Iyer) or the fun-loving commitment-phobe (Pyar ke side effects), but he does justice to his role as T.K., the Bristish planter, Moore's right-hand man.

I would recommend watching the movie, if only to enjoy the breathtaking photography.