Rustom is Akshay Kumar’s fastest-earning blockbuster.

It has almost  touched the magical 100-crore mark in a week. Of course the Independence Day/Raksha Bandhan  holidays helped. But there’s more that the junta doesn’t know .The film was made in a water-tight Rs 55-crore budget.Akshay Kumar charged no money on the table. Instead he was promised a cut from the profits. This means the market savvy superstar is now richer than before.

Akshay had a premonition about Rustom.

Dhishoom

He had a strong feeling it would go beyond all expectations when his mother-in-law Dimple Kapadia Khanna who is as blunt as they come, said Rustom was a whopper. Dimple  is known to declare  her son-in-law’s  film to be rubbish when she has not liked it. So now we know whom Akshay’s wife Twinkle has inherited her wise-cracking honesty from.This time Dimple did a  thumbs up after watchingRustom.For Akshay the film was a winner  the minute his Saasuma declared  it a whammy.

Rustom is secretly a tribute to Akshay Kumar’s father-in-law the superstar Rajesh Khanna.

Akshay Kumar

For very longAkshay wanted to do a remake of one Khanna’s films, Ittefaq which he loved. But then a remake of Ittefaq is planned by Dharma Productions in collaboration with the film’s original producers , B R Chopra. Akhay then decided to  do a film inspired by the K M Nanavati case. Like the film Ittefaq the Nanavati case is about a man accused of his wife’s murder. Akshay saw  Rustom as his Ittefaq.

Rustom was  to be directed by Neeraj Pandey who had earlier directed Akshay Kumar in Special Chabbis and Baby.

Akshay Kumar

But then Neeraj was busy with Dhoni: The Untold Story. Akshay suggested Tinu Suresh Desai’s name. Tinuhad to his credit nothing except a small-scaled horror film 1920 London for producer Vikram Bhatt. But thenAkshay loves to work with fresh untried and ‘untired’ directors.

It was decided by the Rustom team to keep Nanavati completely out of the picture.

Akshay Kumar

No mention was to be made of Nanavati in any  of the media interactions regarding the film. In fact the film’s team maintained  that the film was NOT based on the Nanavati case. Ha ha.This was done to avoid law suits from the real-life Mrs Nanvati who now leads a peaceful life outside  India.

Aamir Khan was keen on making a film on the Nanavati case

with the active help of Mrs Nanavati who was thrilled when Aamir approached her. But then when Aamir heard about  Rustom he dropped his plans.

Akshay does not attend parties, hardly ever throws parties.

In fact after the grand success of  Rustom the producers suggested a grand celebration. Our  Noble Superstar insisted there will be no celebration. No point in making a song and dance of the success, even though Rustom is his fast-earning 100-crore film.