Critical analysis on movie Rustom

Chapter 1

Introduction

The Movie was based on a real case which took place in year 1959 where where Commander
Kawas Manekshaw Nanavati, a Naval Commander, was tried for the murder of Prem Ahuja,
his wife's lover. The incident received unprecedented media coverage and inspired several
books and films such as the 2016 film, Rustom. Commander Nanavati, accused under section
302, was initially declared not guilty by a jury, but the verdict was dismissed by the Bombay
High Court and the case was retried as a bench trial. This was among the last case to be heard
as a jury trial in India, as the government abolished jury trials soon after this case. Nanavati
was finally pardoned by Vijayalakshmi Pandit, newly appointed Governor of Bombay and
sister of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Nanavati was said to be very close to Nehru.

Background - Kawas Manekshaw Nanavati (1916–2003), a Parsi people, was

a Commander with the Indian Navy and had settled down in Mumbai with Sylvia (1921–),
his English-born wife and their two sons and a daughter.

With Nanavati frequently away on assignments for long periods of time, Sylvia fell in love
with Prem Bhagwan Ahuja, a friend of Nanavati's. In her testimony in court, Prem's sister
Mamie Ahuja, stated that Prem had agreed to marry Sylvia, provided she divorced her
husband. However, this was contradicted by the letters written by Sylvia (admitted as Sylvia's
testimony), where she expressed her desire to divorce Nanavati and marry Prem, but she
doubted whether Prem had the same intentions. In a letter dated 24 May 1960, she wrote
"Last night when you spoke of your marrying me and the various other girls you might
marry, something inside me snapped and I knew I could not bear the thought of your loving
someone else.

Jury trial -The crux of the case was whether Nanavati shot Ahuja in the "heat of the
moment" or whether it was a premeditated murder. In the former scenario, Nanavati would be
charged under the Indian penal code for culpable homicide, with a maximum punishment of
10 years. This is because he could have invoked exceptions 1 and 4 of section 300 of IPC
(which defines murder). Exception 1 states:

"Culpable homicide is not murder if the offender, whilst deprived of the power of self-control
by grave and sudden provocation, causes the death of the person who gave the provocation or
causes the death of any other person by mistake or accident.

Exception 4 states:

"Culpable homicide is not murder if it is committed without premeditation in a sudden fight

in the heat of passion upon a sudden quarrel and without the offender having taken undue
advantage or acted in a cruel or unusual manner.
Explanation - It is immaterial in such cases which party offers the provocation or commits the
first assault."

In the latter scenario (i.e. premeditated murder), Nanavati would be charged with murder,
with the sentence being death or life imprisonment. Nanavati pleaded not guilty and his
defence team argued it a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder,[6] while the
prosecution argued it was premeditated murder.

The jury in the Greater Bombay Sessions Court had only task: to pronounce a person as
'Guilty' or 'Not Guilty' under the charges. They could not indict any accused nor could punish
the accused. The jury in the Greater Bombay sessions court pronounced Nanavati as not
guilty under section 302 under which Nanavati was charged, with an 8–1 verdict. Mr.
Ratilal Bhaichand Mehta (the sessions judge) considered the acquittal as perverse and
referred the case to the Bombay High Court.
The prosecution argued that the jury had been misled by the presiding judge on four crucial
points:

1. The onus of proving that it was an accident and not premeditated murder was on
Nanavati.

2. Was Sylvia's confession grave provocation for Nanavati, or any specific incident in
Ahuja's bedroom or both?

3. The judge wrongly told the jury that the provocation can also come from a third
person.

4. The jury was not instructed that Nanavati's defence had to be proved, to the extent
that there is no reasonable doubt in the mind of a reasonable person.

The court accepted the arguments, dismissed the jury's verdict and the case was freshly heard
in the high court. Without any proper study comparing existing judicial systems and without
any effort to improve the system, it was claimed that jury had been influenced by media and
was open to being misled, the Government of India abolished jury trials after this case.

Retrial - After Nanavati's acquittal by the Jury was dismissed, his retrial was held in
the Bombay High Court.

Public support

The incident both shocked and riveted the entire country. Such a 'crime of passion' was
considered unusual. People also found the unfolding relationships intriguing, for instance,
Nanavati had known Ahuja for nearly 15 years and Sylvia stood by her husband after Ahuja's
murder.

The weekly tabloid Blitz , owned by R. K. Karanjia, a Parsi himself, publicised the story,
published exclusive cover stories and openly supported Nanavati. They portrayed him as a
wronged husband and upright officer, betrayed by a close friend. Blitz painted Nanavati's
image, as that of a man representing the ideal middle class values as against Ahuja's playboy
image, that symbolised the corruption and sleaze of the bourgeois.

Influential Parsis held regular rallies in Mumbai, with the largest being an event held
at Cowasji Jehangir Hall, to support the Governor's decree that suspended Nanavati's life
sentence and put him under naval custody, until his appeal was heard by the Supreme Court.
At that rally, 3,500 people filled the hall and around 5,000 stood outside. Nanavati also
received backing from the Indian Navy and the Parsi Panchayat, while the Sindhi
community backed Mamie Ahuja.

Among the jurists, Ram Jethmalani led the prosecution, while Karl Khandalavala represented
Nanavati.

Release -Nanavati had moved in the same social circles as the Nehru-Gandhi family for
many years. He had previously worked as Defence Attaché to V. K. Krishna Menon, while
the latter was high commissioner to the United Kingdom, and had grown close to the Nehrus
during that time. During the time of Nanavati's trial and sentencing, Jawaharlal Nehru was
Prime Minister of India and his sister, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, was governor of Maharashtra
state.

All of these advantages may in other circumstances have availed Nanavati nothing, for
a pardon might have been seen by the press and public at other times as a blatant misuse of
power to help the crony of an influential political family. However, public opinion, in the
largely conservative country, was decidedly in favour of Nanavati, seen as an upright naval
officer with middle class values and a strong sense of honour. Public opinion held the
sentence of life in prison was too harsh and supported a proposal, mooted by the Blitz, to
grant a pardon to the cuckolded naval officer. The Blitz magazine played a significant part in
raising public opinion in favour of Nanavati and keeping the issue alive for over three years
until the pardon was granted.

Nanavati spent 3 years in prison; it was feared that a pardon for him could elicit an angry
reaction from the Sindhi community to which the Ahuja family belonged. At around this
time, the government received an application for pardon from Bhai Pratap, a Sindhi trader
who had been a participant in the Indian independence movement, and had been convicted
for misusing an import licence. Given his freedom fighter background, and the relative
smallness of his offence, the government was inclined to pardon Bhai Pratap. Finally, an
application seeking pardon for Nanavati was obtained even from Mamie Ahuja, sister of the
deceased. She gave her assent for his pardon in writing. Vijayalakshmi Pandit,
then governor of Maharashtra, pardoned Bhai Pratap and Nanavati on the same day.

Movie scenario – Rustom Parikh worked as a navy officer on Indian navy and was often
used to travel living his wife cinthia alone with in every 6 months. Once when he went to a
party along with cinthia he was introduced to Mr. vikram Makhija was a renowned
businessman then time he owns show rooms of imperial motors show room and also
involved in other business, in a party prem sister prity was also there, slowly they all 4 started
enjoying each other company used to hang out go out together and gradually they become
very close friends , whenever Rustom used to go out due to his official duties on ship cinthia
used to spend all her time with prity, eventually she started her friendship with Vikram which
slowly but got very serious and eventually turned into physical relationship, once when
rustom returned from ship he straight went to his house to meet cinthia but he found out that
cinthia was not in house so he called prity asking about cinthia she informed him that she
didn’t meet cinthia from so many days, after that rustom called vikram his maid picked up the
call and told him that vikram is not at home then rustom directly went to his house where he
found out her wife with vikram, next morning when her wife returned to home, she found
out rustam is already home, after some talk rustom went to his ship and took a gun from ship
and straight went to vikram house where after some time his servant heard some noise of gun
, when maid went to room he saw vikram lying down on floor dead with 3 bullets in his
chest, after that he immediately went to police station and surrender himself and from here
all arguments and other things will come in action.

Chapter 2

Arguments of defence and prosecution

Defence version

In movie rustom decided to fight his case himself without any lawyer , he argued that when
her wife came in the morning he saw injury marks on her head which had been given by
vikram Makhija, his wife by knowing the intensity and understanding that rustom has
actually got the knowlwdge of her affair with vikram console him but the situation was out of
control and suddenly he went and took his gun from the ship, from there he directly went
tovikram’s house met vikram at the latter's bedroom, vikram had just come out of the bath
dressed only in a white towel an angry Rustom swore at Prem and proceeded to ask him
calmly if he intends to marry cinth. vikram replied, "Will I marry every woman I sleep with?
Which further enraged Rustom. Seeing Vikram go for the gun, enclosed in a cubed, vikram
too went for his gun and suddenly a fight was broke out between both of them inbetween
fight Rustom got the gun and shoot thrice to Vikram on his chest which resulted in his death,
Rustom argued that he did this all in sudden provocation, which was done by Vikrams word
when he said that “will he be marrying every woman he slept with” there was no motive of
Rustom to kill Vikram also he shoot him thrice due to in their practice they have been trained
to shoot thrice, Rustom also claimed self defence as he said he shoot deceased as he saw
danger to his own life and to protect himself he shoot Vikram makhija, Rustom also proved
some letters which had been exchanged between her wife and deceased which clears that it
was Vikram who had taken the initiative to make physical relation with cinthia, also so many
evidences which made Rustom a hero and he got lot of support from general public, Rustom
also proved that Vikram was a man with high temperament which used to took out his riffle
even on very small issues.

Prosecution version
The prosecution's version of the story and their counter-points against the defence's version
was based on replies by witnesses and backed by evidence. The towel that Vikram was
wearing was intact on his body and had neither loosened nor fallen off. In the case of a
scuffle, it is highly improbable that the towel would have stayed intact. After Rustom came to
know about affair between his wife and vikram, a calm and collected Vikram left his house
drove to his naval base and got gun along with rounds, This indicated that the provocation
was neither grave nor sudden and that Rustom had the murder planned. Ahuja's servant bhada
bhai testified that three shots were fired in quick succession and the entire incident took under
a minute to occur, thus ruling out a scuffle. Rustom walked out of Ahuja's residence, without
explaining to his maid that it was an accident. He then unloaded the gun, went to the Provost
Marshal and then to the police to confess his crime, thus ruling out that he was dazed. The
High Court agreed with the prosecution's argument that the murder was premeditated and
sentenced Nanavati to life imprisonment for culpable homicide amounting to murder, also
they produced certain false evidence and witnesses also which was on later proofed to be
false, even cinthia confessed about her illegitimate relation with Vikram which actually gives
a motive to Rustom to kill Vikram, prosecution also produced a audio tape which was
eventually malfunctioned by an officer which clears proved that Vikram said he was going to
meet Vikram and he won’t spare him.