Amit Masurkar’s Newton, starring Anjali Patil and Rajkummar Rao had its world premiere at 67th Berlin International Film Festival but it released in India on 22 September 2017 The film has already garnered rave reviews at the festival, and am sincerely hoping it will get the same appreciation and response in our country too.
Why I say that is because it’s a film that every Indian should watch especially the ones who like to relax at home rather than go vote. It will put all those people to shame as the film without being preachy, stresses about how important our right to cast a vote is and how some of us don’t take it seriously.
Newton is a smartly written film about a young election officer Newton Kumar (originally called Nutan but changes his name to Newton because his schoolmates would taunt him). The voting is to be conducted in a remote p tribal inhabited part of Chhattisgarh. The problem is that the Maoists want the tribals to boycott the election while the police are reluctant to take risks and go into the deep jungles as they feel it’s pointless to hold elections in a conflict zone.
Even minus the conventional superstars, the glamour and glitz and ‘gana bajana’, at no point does this dark satirical comedy become boring or unbearably dark as the film is filled with humor and some really subtle yet good dialogues.
Besides Rajkummar, Newton has an outstanding cast; Raghubir Yadav as Loknath, Pankaj Tripathi as Atma Singh the police officer, the gorgeous Anjali Patil as Malko, a local tribal woman who joins the election team, light up the scenes in the dreary, bare jungles and make the film a fun watch with all their light-hearted yet thought-provoking banter. Like the scene where Raghubir Yadav gives an explanation of why he’s learning English and why all of them should too, “aajkal kutte bhi angrezi hi samajte hai,” had the whole theater burst out in laughter.
But it is Rajkumar who stands out among the cast. He plays Newton with a lot of sincerity and dedication much like his reel character who takes the job assigned to him seriously and even almost risks his life for that. His character is likable and pure. If only our country had more real-life Newtons, there would be lesser potholes, less corruption, and an outstanding turnout during voting time!
Go watch Newton for tips on discipline and dedication at work.
