The latest version of this page moved to indiancine.ma - Click here
Pestonjee
1987 110’ col Hindi d/co-sc Vijaya Mehta pc NFDC st/co-sc B.K. Karanjia c A.K. Bir m Vanraj Bhatia lp Anupam Kher, Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Kiran Thakur Singh Kher
Melodrama about two old Parsee friends, the extrovert Pesi (A. Kher) and the shy Piroj (Shah), both in love with Jeroo (Azmi). Pesi marries Jeroo and also draws close to the widowed lawyer Soona (K. Kher). Piroj is transferred away from Bombay for five years and returns to find Jeroo had a miscarriage and that Pesi now prefers Soona’s company. When Pesi dies, his funeral is paid for by Soona who has borne him a son. Based on a short story by Karanjia written in the early 50s, the film is set among the Bombay Parsees. The acting, speech, decor and much of the storyline adheres to popular perceptions of a community often caricatured as idiosyncratic. The film often slips into flashbacks, usually from Piroj’s point of view.