Rustom Review

This week saw a clash between two very different films of two very different schools of film making.

Rustom Vs mohenjo Daro.

Fortunately, it hasn’t been much of a competition, Rustom is running to PACKED houses, to the very last seat and Mohenjo Daro has less than 30% occupancy.

There is good reason for this.

Rustom is a film about a Navy Officer who shoots his wife’s lover and surrenders himself to the police. Will he be found guilty or set free?

The first thing you notice about this film is the setting of 1959 Bombay. They have gone to great lengths to re-create that era. Even though in some of the shots the people seem a bit animated or shot against a blue screen, the effort is appreciated and the time period is very firmly set.

Akshay Kumar as Rustom Pavri is really good, he plays the upright officer perfectly and never breaks character. Top marks to him for being stoic and non-melodramatic in every scene.

The casting in the film is also really good. Every small role is played with nuance. Especially the role of Rustom’s house maid, she steals the show in her brief appearance.

Miss D’cruz is adequate and is easy on the eyes as the repentant wife of the prime accused, Rustom.

Pavan Malhotra as the lead inspector also shines thorough as the person determined to see Rustom behind bars.

The only bad performance in this film is Esha Gupta who is SO cliched, it was unbelievable, she didn't seem like a real character at all!

The films REALLY shines in the edit and direction, even though the first half is slightly dragging and bland, the second half more than makes up for it.

The first half is all setup for the drama of the second half and in those aspects the movie works rather well.The entire courtroom drama in the second half makes the movie. One particular scene in which the investigator is getting the full story from witnesses is particularly well done and notable.

Dialogs, screenplay also get top marks, there is no over the top melodrama, everything happens in a logical and collected way, even the way the wife is shown to be seduced is rather believable and more on the realistic side. The community war that started between the Sindhis and the Parsis over this whole issue is also documented and given its due screen time, without it being over bearing.

The small things in this film are also some of the BEST part of this movie. The attention to detail given to how people used to dress, walk and talk back in the 1950’s is amazing. Delhi airport is shown as a small place, they didn’t just shoot at the modern airport and expect people to go with it. The collars of the people, even the extras are period accurate. Right down to the tube to odomos someone is using. These small things show the dedication of the team to present a era bygone with utmost accuracy.

As for the film itself. Overall this is a crackling thriller in which the ending is known to everyone, but it’s still riveting.

Rating : 8.5/10.

A must watch for Neeraj Pandey fans (A Wednesday , Special 26). Definitely one of Akshay Kumar’s best films. Courtroom drama lovers will not be disappointed with the film either.

P.S : I don’t know how much of the story presented is true, but it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t claim to be a real story, only BASED upon one.