So we get another so-called 'art' film produced by the Indian government. It's a nice and enjoyable film overall and as expected, it is portrayed quite realistically. Moreover, it presents the Parsi community, around which the story revolves, with humour and affection. The production design is absolutely fantastic. Where the film falters is in the narrative, which is quite draggy and slow. The story just takes forever to pick up and it does so later in the second half but only partially. Now I'm all for this kind of cinema - I'm a big admirer of the work of Shyam Benegal and the likes, I often find their films both meaningful and engaging, but this film hardly manages to be either of the two. It's not bad at all, it's not unwatchable by any means but it just doesn't have this sweeping quality which must be in every film to make it work. The second half is better, with some nice twists and greater dramatic tension which turns out to be just a short sequence.
Pestonjee rests on the able shoulders of Naseeruddin Shah who does not just act but creates a character. He captures Piroj Shah's reservedly awkward and eccentric nature with great affection. The film is his story all through and he gets to make some funny angry scowls as his character's voice-over thoughts are being played while he interacts with the other players. He is supported well by Anupam Kher who is mostly random but then has some nice moments to shine in the second half. Shabana Azmi is given a rather thankless role and she doesn't really look the part as her character must be a much younger woman. Kirron Kher is fine and quite unlikable in part because Naseeruddin Shah manages to make us feel towards her exactly as he does. This is how good his work in this film is. Pestonjee is a watchable and well-made film which has a nice conclusion, but it could and should have been better. It derseved to be just as entertaning as it was appreciable.
