Akshay Kumar has already played an Indian intelligence officer (Baby), Armyman (Holiday: A Soldier is Never Off Duty) and a patriotic do-gooder minus a designation (Airlift, Gabbar etc.). Now he is back with Rustom as a Naval Commander.
This story is of Commander Cawas Maneckshaw Nanavati, his English wife Sylvia and her lover Prem Ahuja. Nanavati who is depicted as Rustom in movie committed murder of his wife’s lover, when he finds that she is cheating on him. Then he surrendered himself to police & case has been registered on him. This case is known as KM Nanavati vs State of Maharashtra, which was run in 1959 Indian court.
But what is the speciality of this case? Why has this case been made into a movie? Have a look!
Here is what had happened:
On 27 April 1959, Commander Kawas Maneckshaw Nanavati returned home from one of his assignments, he found Sylvia depressed. On being questioned, his wife confessed to him that she was in love with a family friend, Prem Ahuja. Without betraying any emotion, the officer – who was second in command of the Indian Navy’s flagship INS Mysore – Nanavati dropped his English wife and two children at a film theatre.
The 37-year-old officer then went to his ship, took his senior officer’s permission to leave for Ahmednagar and carry a revolver and six bullets. Nanavati went to Ahuja’s house and ask him if he intends to marry Sylvia and look after his children?. After Prem replied in the negative (“Will I marry every woman I sleep with?“), three shots were fired and Prem Ahuja dropped dead. Nanavati gave himself up to police and confessed to the murder.
A Zoom into the Inspiration of Rustom:
In court, the main argument was on whether Nanavati shot Ahuja in the “heat of the moment” or whether it was a premeditated murder. Since Nanavati, a patriotic person serving the country, had no criminal background and he willingly surrendered, the Bombay session court pronounced him not guilty under Section 302.
Being the victim od betrayal, and having a background of honor and valor at the Navy, the public was with Maneckshaw. Nanavati was portrayed as a disciplined officer who was wronged by his wife and, therefore, this crime of passion was now justifiable in the public’s eye.
The case went to the Bombay High Court. The court accepted the arguments, dismissed the jury’s verdict and it agreed with the prosecution’s argument that the murder was premeditated. But despite the public support, Nanavati was read out a sentence of life imprisonment which was confirmed in November 1961 by the Supreme Court.
Public & Media support:
The media (Blitz) reportage on the whole issue blew up the case for the general public to judge. He has also garnered huge support from the Indian Navy and the Parsi community, while the Sindhi community backed Mamie Ahuja.
Rallies were held on Bombay streets demanding pardoning of the convicted officer. He was finally pardoned in 1962. He migrated to Canada with Sylvia and children.
During the time of his trial and sentencing, Jawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister of India and his sister, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, was governor of Maharashtra state.
This case is considered as one of the most thrilling and interesting cases in India & this was the last case to be heard as a Jury trial in India.
The case has inspired a lot of popular culture movies and books in recent times. Nanavati ka Mukadama, Indira Sinha’s ‘The Death of Mr Love’ and Salman Rushdie’s ‘Midnight Children’ carry some elements of the much publicized case.
>>> Watch Rustom Movie Trailer here
Produced by Neeraj Pandey, Aruna Bhatia and Nittin Keni in the direction of Tinu Suresh Desai and starring Ileana D’Cruz and Esha Gupta opposite to actor Akshay Kumar, Rustom is scheduled for release on 12 August 2016.