A Parsi was one of the champions of Thailand’s film industry
Farrokh Jijina
While people in India talk reverentially about the Parsi contribution to the early years of the country’s cinema [thespian and director Sohrab Modi, maker of the country’s first talkie film Ardeshir Irani, music composer Khorshed Minocher-Homji (Saraswati Devi) et al], not many may know that a Parsi name pops up as a forerunner in the nascent Thai film industry. Film buff D. J. Murthy drew Parsiana’s attention to the Bangkok-born director, producer, cinematographer and screenwriter Rattana Pestonji (1908-1970), who is generally known as the father of contemporary films in Thailand. The Bangkok Asean Film Festival held in July this year......