Detailing slip-ups in Akshay Kumar-starrer 'Rustom' still 'irk' the producer Neeraj Pandey
Shilpi Sampad (MID-DAY; September 9, 2016)

Akshay Kumar's Independence Day outing, 'Rustom', may still be running in theatres, but a tinge of regret lines the producer's joy. When the thriller, based on the infamous 1959 Nanavati case, hit theatres, critics were unforgiving of the glaring loopholes. Some also pointed out that the film lacked the 'Neeraj Pandey flair', although he'd only produced it.

Ask Neeraj about it and he says, "The fact is that Tinu Suresh Desai (Rustom's director) worked hard on the film. I was not happy with the detailing in so many ways, because with the kind of movies that we make, Shital (Bhatia, production partner) and I are careful to not get basic facts wrong. That's why we had on board an ex-Navy officer (Vipul K Rawal), who is the writer of the film as well, to look at these kinds of details. But somewhere it (the detailing) slipped. That irks me."

Neeraj, who is now lending finishing touches to his upcoming biopic, M S Dhoni - The Untold Story, as director also doesn't want to make much of Rustom's BO battle with Hrithik Roshan's Mohenjo Daro. "That wasn't the first or the last time that two films had clashed (in theatres). So, I don't think too much about who wins. We are just having fun and trying to do good work," he adds.