The Independence Day weekend brings today two big budget movies viz. Mohenjo Daro and Rustom starring Akshay Kumar, Ileana Dcuz, and Esha Gupta. 2016 can be ideally called the year of Biopics with so many of them releasing back to back and Rustom again is inspired by the famous Nanavati case the led to the end of the jury system in India.

The movie takes you back in 1950’s Bombay (not Mumbai) when judicial decisions were taken by jury members. Rustom Parvi (Akshay Kumar) serves in the Naval force and lives a happily married life with his wife Cynthia Parvi (Ileana D’cruz). The myth of a happy married life ends when one day Rustom comes back home from sea, earlier than expected and finds out that his much-in-love wife has not returned home for past 2 days. He comes across few letters that tell a story of an illicit relationship between his wife Cynthia and a filthy rich businessman Vikram Makhija (Arjan Bajwa). Unable to bear his wife’s treachery he in a moment of passion kills Vikram and hands himself over to the police and then pleads not guilty. When Vikram’s well-connected sister Preeti Makhija (Esha Gupta) comes to know of her brother’s death, she vows to take revenge and uses everything in her power to put Rustom behind the bars. What happens to Rustom? Would he end up in jail or will he go scot free? Is there more to what lies in front of the eyes? To know that one needs to see the movie.

Although there are few movies made in the past based on the Nanavati case viz. Yeh Raaste Hai Pyar Ke and Achanak, director Tinu Suresh Desai does a decent job, however, the screenplay by Vipul K. Rawal lets him down. The dialogues are okay, however, there are few scenes in the courtroom that evoke laughter.  The editing by Sree Narayan Singh could have been crispier as the movie lags in few places. Songs by Arko, Jeet Ganguli, Ankit Tiwari and Raghav Sachar are decent, however, the background music is quite loud and irritating.

When it comes to performance, Akshay Kumar is at his best. He gets into the character of Rustom Parvi with ease. He emotes well, romances well and Rustom will again be a great performance in his overfilled hat. Ileana D’cruz is good, however, not great. Esha Gupta is a disappointment, the lady needs to emote more than pout. Arjan Bajwa is good in a small role. In supporting cast, Sachin Khedekar, Usha Nadkarni, Kumud Mishra and Pawan Malhotra live up to their parts.

On the whole, the script is weak but performances are great. Go for Rustom if you are a die-hard Akshay Kumar fan.

My Verdict: *** (extra star for Akshay)