Sepia tone in the
beginning – Check. Typical Villains and vamps – Check. Overdressed actors
overacting – Check. Big cars, empty roads and horse races – Check. Incessant smoking
as if it were a fashion statement – Check. Poor visual effects – Check. And that
sounds exactly like a Bollywood film trying too hard to be a period film. And what
about the script? Oh well, nobody seems to have given it a thought.
Based on the film's
posters, if you thought that the movie was made by Neeraj Pandey (of Baby, Special
26, and A Wednesday fame), you have been fooled. IMDb merely lists his name as miscellaneous
crew with the title 'presented by', not sure whatever that means! The film is
instead directed by Dharmendra Suresh Desai who is two movies old and Rustom
happens to be his first featuring a big star.
The story is
apparently inspired by the real life 1959 court case of KM Nanavati v. State of
Maharashtra which was the last case to be heard as a jury trial, after which,
the government abolished the process. The film deals with the events leading up
to the eventual acquittal by the jury. A simple reading of the Wikipedia page
on the case tells you that the story had enough meat and didn't have to resort
to extraneous stories.
Akshay Kumar plays
the lead character, Commander Rustom Pavri who discovers that his wife Cynthia
(Ileana D'Cruz) has been having an affair with Vikram Makhija (Arjan Bajwa,
remember the 2008 film Fashion?). He obtains a pistol from the navy and uses it
to kill Vikram point blank and then surrenders before the police. Pavan
Malhotra plays Vincent Lobo, the cop who digs deep to unearth the multiple
layers in the story.
The filmmakers
chose to complicate the story by bringing in the angle of corruption with the antagonist
being involved in it. It somehow rationalizes the protagonist's act. Also, the
portrayal of Cynthia seems to have been done keeping in mind the views of the Indian
audiences on extra marital affairs and have therefore shown her as a victim and
Rustom as someone who had to kill Vikram to avenge the latter's wrongs to the
nation.
Bollywood is far
below the Hollywood benchmark when it comes to making serious defense based or
courtroom dramas. Case in point was 'Shaurya' which was a poor remake of 'A few
good men' which failed to impress despite casting some of the finest character actors.
Rustom is also no exception as it fails to deliver on the promise.
Numerous clichés
and caricatures spoil the seriousness of the film. The newspaper editor who
runs articles in support of Rustom is almost shown as a buffoon. Esha Gupta
plays Vikram's brother Preety Makhija in an utterly vamp-like manner, replete
with smoking through long cigarette handles, elaborate makeup and garish
lipstick. And then we have the classic Bollywood movie judge who goes on hammering
'Order, Order'.
Akshay Kumar's
primary costume in the film is his pristine white Navy uniform.. It doesn't
matter whether he is working aboard a ship, drinking at home, cooling his heels
in police custody or his multiple appearances in court; it stays spotless.
While appearing unreal, the only purpose is can possibly serve is to help woo
women audiences!
With a 50 crore
budget, it could have surely done better on visual effects. The orange sky
behind the ship and the artificial fluttering flag in Akshay's entry scene look
utterly unconvincing. Instead of wasting money on shooting a romantic song in a
foreign locale, they could have at least made the Indian setting look more
convincing.
Talking of music,
it was mostly forgettable and the film would've done well without songs. The
background score is loud in an attempt to build seriousness, but doesn’t impress.
I would be surprised if someone came out of the movie hall humming any song!
Despite its flaws, Akshay
Kumar is the sole savior of an otherwise disastrous film. He is convincing as
he plays an upright defense officer. Among the others Pawan Malhotra does well
as the cop. Ileana D'cruz and Arjan Bajwa are passable. Sachin Kehdekar the annoying
lawyer. Manoj Bajypayee was an invisible narrator and rather unimportant.
Verdict: Rustom had the potential of being a gritty
courtroom drama, public sympathy and relationships gone awry. Instead, we get a
sympathetic portrayal of an honest officer amidst a corrupt defense deal and a
whole lot of inane caricatures. At best, it can pass boredom on a Sunday afternoon
whenever it is aired on television.
Rating 5/10:
Underwhelming. Waste of Potential.
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