When Akshay announced himself to all of us in 1991 with a dud called Saugandh, I still remember how he was ridiculed. The biggest criticism that Kumar has endured for a large part of his career is being called wooden. How has this wood carved its own self in Rustom is to be seen and believed.

With Rustom, Kumar the actor has made a mark. He emotes very well in the opening scenes of the movie when he first discovers he has been betrayed by his wife. The scene in which he just sits in his bedroom, drinking whiskey, staring into nothing, as well as the one in which he drives down to his wife’s lover’s home to see them embracing —  these are some of the moments in this movie when Kumar makes his presence felt as an actor.

Rustom is a well-crafted movie, even if it is not entirely based on facts. It entertains and for the average movie goer who would want to be regaled for 150-odd minutes, this movie does more than that. The film is a well-written courtroom drama, in which we see a sincere man, committed to his principles fight a legal battle on his own, without a lawyer. Thus, the film becomes a battle of the underdog vs a powerful lawyer. The characters are well-conceived and the most noteworthy of the supporting cast is the ever-dependable Usha Nadkarni. She plays the maid of the house and manages to irk the judge so much that she is sent to one night in jail for contempt of court. Her scene had the audience roaring and rooting for her.

The other character worth remarking upon was the slimy newspaper baron, Billimoria (played by Kumud Mishra), who is repeatedly sent to custody for contempt of court. Parmeet Sethi plays a corrupt Navy officer and Kanwaljeet Singh, in a small but impactful role, plays the defence secretary. A mention must be made of Pavan Malhotra. His Inspector Vincent Lobo is a remarkable performance. A man who does his job by the book but also suffers because he has a strong sense of fairplay.

One scene that stands out is when Rustom interrogates his wife Cynthia in court. Despite the prosecution lawyer objecting to the conversation, the judge allows it to go on – aware that here is a love story gone wrong that is trying to repair itself. That moment when Rustom offers a handkerchief to his crying wife after she breaks down because of his questioning is a screen moment you will probably want to catch again and again.

Applause must also be given to Rustom’s production team and the background score, which is foot tapping stuff. The aura of 1950s is brilliantly brought to life by the film’s technical teams.

But there’s more to Rustom than a courtroom drama. It is also a very well-packaged story of a loving husband and a bored housewife who is tricked into an affair by a Casanova. It also tries to point out the corruption in arms deals existed in India, even in Jawaharlal Nehru’s time. Sure, it is presented in a manner where it is more comic book fiction of the 1950s, but the victory of the director is in making it look convincing.

There will be a day when Neeraj Pandey as a producer will sit back and reflect on his career. Whatever else he does from now on, he will be proud of this one as much as he should be proud of films that he’s directed, like A Wednesday, Special 26 and Baby. Director Tinu Suresh Desai has redeemed himself with this one after the super dud that was Azhar.

As a big time Bollywood buff, there are just two words that sum up my take on Rustom: Watch it.