A Naval Commander pleads NOT GUILTY after 3 gun shots on his playboy friend.
At the very begining itself, the director has claimed that the film is a work of fiction, and is a fictional representation of the case of K M Nanavati versus State of Maharashtra which grabbed headlines during the 1960s.
The year is 1959 in Bombay (Now called as Mumbai) Rustom Pavri, a commander with the Indian Navy is a celebrated officer who puts his country first among anything else in the world.
Duty calls him often to be offshore and once, during his early return from duty, Rustom (Akshay Kumar) finds his wife Cynthia not at home. She has been out of the house since 2 days and Rustom then learns about her affair with a rich Automobile Dealer Vikram Makhija (Arjan Bajwa).
Feeling deceived by his wife’s infidelity, Rustom Pavri, in an angered state drives back to his just docked ship and officially collects his gun, records its entry in the ship’s register.
In a calm state of mind Rustom goes to Vikram’s house seeking clarification which ends up in a scuffle and Rustom Pavri lands up shooting 3 bullets on Vikram’s chest.
Rustom then immediately surrenders for his crime at the Gamdevi Police Station and during the first hearing itself, Rustom pleads “NOT GUILTY” in the Sessions Court.
This statement grabs headlines in the next days papers and there after begins the trial of this decorated officer which is heard by the ‘Jury’ who would decide the fate of this Parsi Naval Officer.
Remember, it is around sixties in Bombay that the verdit used to based on the final decision of the jury members which was the prevalent legal system then.
Akshay Kumar appears wooden (an expressionless seaman) almost all throughout the film, which hits on your senses at some moments. Feel pity for the innocent pretty parsi lady Illeana D’Cruz who committed a single mistake.
Esha Gupta in a brief yet important role looks ravishing and seductive everytime she appears on the screen. Arjan Bajwa is quite impressive as the handsome playboy.
The crispiness and pace of Akshay Kumar’s earlier thrillers (Baby, Special 26, Holiday, etc) are missing in this film. The Editor of the local english paper and the kid who sells the newspapers on the streets overdo their acts. The beginning scenes of Rustom on his naval ship look unnatural with mediocre Digital images of the warship ‘supposedly on’ water.
The film isn’t a murder mystery and lacks the suspense factor which doesn’t exactly keep you hooked to your seats.
Cast:
Akshay Kumar as Commander Rustom Pavri
Illeana D’Cruz as Cynthia Rustom Pavri
Esha Gupta as Priti Makhija
Arjan Bajwa as Vikram Makhija
Pawan Malhotra as Inspector Vincent Lobo
Usha Nadkarni as Jamnabai
Sachin Khedekar as Public Prosecutor Lakshman Khangani
Kumud Mishra as Erach Billimoria
Anang Desai as Judge
Parmeet Sethi as Rear Admiral Prashant Kamat
Kanwaljit Singh as Defense Sec K. G. Bakshi
Credits:
Directed by Tinu Suresh Desai
Produced by Neeraj Pandey, Aruna Bhatia, Nittin Keni, Akash Chawla, Virender Arora
Written by Vipul K. Rawal
Music by Ankit Tiwari, Jeet Ganguly, Raghav Sachar, Arko Pravo Mukherjee
Cinematography – Santosh Thundiyil
Production Company – Zee Studio, KriArj Entertainment, Cape Of Good Films
Rustom, hindi movie review