You may have seen many films based on true events. But what differentiates them from Rustom is the infamous nature of the KM Nanavati vs the State of Maharashtra case that we will bring to light. Do you know that Rustom is inspired by real-life events that happened between 1959 to 1961? Let’s dive into the previous years when the disheartening events occurred.
The start of the secret affair
KM Nanavati, a naval officer was married to a foreigner Sylvia and had two children. He used to remain busy due to the nature of his duty. He had to go on frequent missions as required by his job. In the meantime, Sylvia started having a secret affair with Nanavati’s close associate and friend Prem Ahuja. Prem assured her of marriage and adopting her children
Confession of Sylvia’s betrayal
But things didn’t fall in place as expected. Sylvia got to know about other affairs that prem was having. She had a breakdown. She wanted to marry him and settle down but Prem turned out to be a traitor. One day, Nanavati came back home after completing his assignments. He found Sylvia acting differently. On asking, Sylvia confessed everything to him.
When Nanavati shot down his wife’s lover
Then, Nanavati dropped her wife and children at the movie hall as promised earlier. But he excused himself with some work. With wrath in his eyes and a broken heart, he directly went to Ahuja’s residence. Nanavati asked him if he was going to marry her wife and adopt her children. To this, the very answer of Prem Ahuja became the reason for his death. His response was- Will I marry every woman I sleep with? Listening to this, Nanavati lost hold of his temper and shot three bullets into him with his service revolver.
Acceptance of crime committed and start of trials
After firing his friend, he went to the police and surrendered himself. Firstly, he was tried at the Bombay session court. Since he had no criminal background and the jury sympathized with him, he pleaded not guilty.
But the tensions didn’t disappear here. Mamie Ahuja (Prem Ahuja’s sister)’s lawyer managed to transfer the case to the high court. The case was opened again. This time, things didn’t work in favor of Nanavati though he had public and media support. The murder he committed was considered ‘Premeditated’ and he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
The final judgment of the supreme court
Three years passed, and KM Nanavati was still behind the bars. But then, the matter was heard in the Supreme court. This time, the media trials worked quite in favor of Nanavati and showed its power. Since he had great support from the public (particularly the Parsi community to which he belongs) and media outlets. Rallies were being organized and he became a ‘hero’ in the eyes of many. Even Mamie Ahuja was convinced to give her assent on his pardon. And finally, the pardon pleas were heard and he was forgiven by the then Governor of Maharashtra Vijaylakshmi Pandit (1962).
Scenario aftermath
After his pardon, he moved to Canada with his wife and children and settled there. On 24 July 2003, KM Nanavati passed away in Canada. The case was brought into the limelight through the movie Rustom where both Akshay Kumar and Illeana D’cruz have performed great.