Every character in the film struts around like a vainglorious clothes horse. Rustom Pavri, the man in the dock, always sports his spotless white naval uniform. Even when he is off duty and in police custody, he is a picture of sartorial poise.
His stressed-out wife, despite the serious crisis in her life, is never less than impeccable in her choice of sarees and blouses.
The vamp, like all good old vamps, dons western outfits and carries a slender cigarette holder as if it were an extension of her lips, a la Marlene Dietrich. STORY: Rustom Pavri(Akshay Kumar), an honourable officer of the Indian Navy shoots his friend Vikram(Arjan Bajwa) to death after discovering that his wife Cynthia(Ileana D’Cruz) had an affair with the rich businessman. The Commander surrenders himself to the Police immediately and admits to have killed Vikram but pleads’not guilty’ in court. Is he convicted or acquitted?
REVIEW: Though the climax has been smartly fictionalised, this courtroom drama is essentially based on the real life of Naval officer K?M Nanavati, who in 1959, shot and killed his wife’s lover. The subsequent trial was one of India’s most sensational court cases. Coming to the film, Rustom has a cracker of a beginning. Without wasting any time, the director comes straight to the point. He takes us quickly through the circumstances in which Rustom shoots Vikram and the trial begins.
And suave investigating officer Vincent Lobo(Pavan Malhotra, who, as always, makes an impression that rises above the weaknesses of the film) is never caught without his starched buttoned-down shirt, black tie and pleated trousers as he goes about the job of establishing Rustom’s guilt.
Outside the sessions court, crowds carry completely-out-of-place placards that read "Marry me Rustom", "I love you Rustom" and "I want your baby Rustom". Are we at an IPL match or what?
Especially unexceptionable is the way the court scenes are executed. It takes the film away from the reality of the story and delivers an overacted, overstretched passage that overstays its welcome.
The public prosecutor(Sachin Khedekar) hectors and hollers his way through the hearing. The judge(Anang Desai) adds to the drama with rather vacuous wisecracks when he is not overruling or sustaining objections.
And the jury - the K.M. Nanavati vs. the State of Maharashtra case was India’s last such trial by consensus - stands by dutifully until it is time for them to up the ante even further.
Everything about Rustom is overly spick and span, which does not allow cinematographer Santhosh Thundiyil to go beyond the standard light-and- shade devices.
The kernel of the story: an officer and a gentleman(Akshay Kumar) arrives home after a long absence and stumbles upon an affair that his wife(Ileana D’Cruz) is having with a wealthy social acquaintance of his(Arjun Bajwa).
Similarly, the physical spaces that these characters occupy do not have a real, lived-in look. Even the late 1950s Bombay street scenes, well presented as they are, cannot rescue the film from its airy-fairy, disinfected feel.
An editor of a tabloid called Truth(played by Kumud Mishra) - the character is obviously modelled on Russi Karanjia of Blitz - is an unflattering caricature of a journalist who gets hauled up on a daily basis by the judge for infringing the law.
Akshay Kumar is the backbone of Rustom. The Khiladi renders one of the most understated performances of his career, proving yet again that he can play a range of diverse roles with aplomb. He smoothly pulls off his character with utmost ease.
Based on a controversial case, Rustom lacks the unnerving tension one ideally expects from a film of this genre. However, director Tinu Suresh Desai infuses ample melodrama and ups the intrigue. Ileana D’Cruz is perfectly cast and does complete justice to her role. Arjan Bajwa is decent as well.
To cut to the chase, Rustom can be watched for its story and most importantly Akshay Kumar, whose action/comic brilliance often overshadows his acting prowess. He reminds you to value the honest officers who serve our country with dignity and valour. He makes you want to support the man who probably did the right thing the wrong way.
Written by Vipul K Rawal and directed by Tinu Suresh Desai, Rustom is a strangely bland film that throws more thematic strands into its narrative wicker basket than it can hold - heroism of a man in uniform, marital discord, culpable homicide and legal twists and turns.
An apocryphal aircraft carrier scam involving the high and mighty is added to the broth to lend the hero the sheen of a crusader.
The first time the audience sees the film’s titular figure, he emerges from a naval vessel’s engine room and strides out in style to the deck of the ship.
There is no way anybody can miss the national flag fluttering in the background. he unblemished character of Commander Rustom Pavri - he is a decorated officer celebrated for his devotion to duty - remains untouched by the complexities of a bitter legal contest or the nuances of a marriage gone sour.
Not interested in exploring the frailties that the flesh is heir to, Rustom opts for a facile and melodramatic approach to the 1959 murder case.
The handsomely mounted but anodyne film plays out like a straightforward old school good-versus-evil tale in which the truly righteous are allowed a transgression or two in the face of provocation.