Percy (1989)

My favourite thing about Percy is undoubtedly Kurush Deboo's magnificent performance as the eponymous protagonist. It would have been very easy to exaggerate the "loser" aspects of this character and reduce him to a trope or a joke, but the way Mr. Deboo humanises him is sheer brilliance.

Percy is such a well-written film that I'm afraid it would take me a rewatch to properly express just how much I enjoyed it. I loved how they invoked the past- those moments feel quite fresh for some reason, probably because Indian cinema has a very "tried and tested" approach to showing flashback sequences. Here though, the past and the present weren't distinct entities- they both flowed into each other, and reinforced Percy's emotions and feelings. His dynamics with his mother were also very genuine and interesting. This is the kind of "realistic" cinema I want, one that doesn't pretentiously show only sadness and pain as a part of real life, and focuses on other aspects of daily living as well, including all our surreal thoughts, and how we engage with our memories on an everyday basis. I would particularly highly recommend this to fans of white people writing "modernist" literature or making movies within the genre, so that they can become aware of a better form of their favourite genre. 

The opening sequence, especially the music, is one of the most soothing introductions I have ever seen on film, and it really set the stage for what was to follow. Speaking of music, I fell in love with the music they played during the Bombay Music Society scenes- they really picked those pieces which have the capacity to make you feel some kind of way, which fits in so well with Percy's journey. Chef's kiss. 

In conclusion, the Bloomsbury Group got nothing on Cyrus Mistry, Jill Mistry, Pervez Merwanji, Navroze Contractor, and Priya Krishnaswamy. 

PS- the ending made me so sad that I didn't even cry. 

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