Rustom Review. Review on Rustom

I watched this movie because I am fan of the indian navy and also because of the akshay kumar. akshay kumar was playing the role of the indian naval officer named Rustom. and the leading heroin of this movie was ileana d'cruz. The promotions of Rustom have cleverly steered us to believe that the film is based on the infamous K.M. Nanavati case of 1959, but the text preceding the credits simply states that it is “inspired by true incidents”.While the producers stay in a safe zone on that front, it is clear from the film itself that the idea is to tease the viewer’s imagination with the Nanavati case, yet draw on that to build a brand-new fiction. That is okay, I guess, since Rustom’s characters bear different names from those who peopled this well-chronicled episode in contemporary history. He was initially acquitted in a jury trial and later convicted by the higher judiciary(for details, click here). News archives show that the story captured the imagination of both the public and press at the time, and was the last jury trial in the country. The media coverage of the case was a great example of abysmal tabloid journalism, and the support Nanavati received from his fellow Parsis is an unfortunate example of blatant parochialism by a tiny minority community that has given Mumbai and India so much else to be proud of. All this is rich fodder for any creative mind. Understandably, Nanavati has inspired several books and films, most memorably the Vinod Khanna-starrer Achanak. Rustom draws on Nanavati’s love triangle, but turns it into a saga of a patriot who deserved to be acquitted for a murder he did indeed commit because … well … he was a patriot. In the times that we live in, when the word “nationalist” is being worn as a badge of honour by dangerous, violence-prone elements in our society and polity, this is a very disturbing stance to take. Pavri coolly collects a gun from the naval stores, goes off in search of Vikram, shoots him with that gun and then turns himself in to the police. A powerful tabloid editor(a nod to Russi Karanjia of Blitz newspaper) openly supports Pavri because he is a fellow Parsi and the city’s powerful Parsi community closes ranks to back him. But Rustom has his own plans. At the trial, he refuses a lawyer and pleads his own case. While women swoon outside, we discover from the courtroom proceedings and what remains unsaid there that he is, in fact, not a wronged husband but a conscientious Navyman who became a victim of circumstances.

Rustom’s messaging should perhaps not be surprising considering that it is produced by Neeraj Pandey’s Plan C Studios. Pandey directed that populist Hindi film offering A Wednesday, which glorified the notion of common people taking up arms to kill off those they consider enemies of the state. However ideologically debatable that film might have been, it has to be said that it was a polished production. Rustom is not.