Newton (Movie Review)

Newton Pricks the Conscience of Indian Democracy!

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Reviewer’s Thumb Mark

Masurkar graduates from his 2014’s ‘Sulemani Keeda’ to his second venture ‘Newton’ successfully. This time his lead protagonist has a keeda (weakness) for ‘honesty’ as a presiding officer at Naxalite-influenced region, Dandakaranya in Chattisgarh. The film’s initial part has a scene where we find Newton reading a ‘Handbook on Election Procedures’ and the light goes off. It is so true and satirical that in India, anyone who wants to understand any rulebook may experience a blackout. As per an old adage - ‘rules are made to be broken’ and when it comes to elections in India it is true to a great extent. As conveyed by the Poll Instructor in the film (Sanjay Mishra), though the Indian democracy allows criminals and goondas to fight and win elections, they as presiding officers and booth officers’ are expected to ensure that there should not be any unlawful activity while polling.

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The strength and beauty of the film are that it very subtly convey the hard truth of Indian democracy and the plight of the marginalised in the society, especially the Adivasis (tribals). The film is unbiased and raises pertinent questions. The film portrays the following : plight of our army men who work under danger without having advanced and basic security equipment and gadgets; the helplessness of the tribals who are caught in the crossfire of Naxalites and the police force; how the local administration and the governing authorities are left with no options but to overlook the problems of the region; the sham behind the so-called surrenders in the name of Naxalites; and the divide and rule policy of the ruling class in constituting the controversial ‘Salva Judum’ by recruiting locals and ex-Naxalites to fight against the Naxalites and other emerging struggles in the region.  It leaves ample room for the audience to ponder upon the dialogues of the film’s characters like Newton (Rajkummar Rao), the election officer Loknath (Raghubhir Yadav),  fellow officer Shambhu (Mukesh Prajapati), booth-level local officer Malko (Anjali Patil), and Aatma Singh, the Army officer in charge of the region. These characters in the film portray the various mindsets and perceptions that exist in our society.

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Aatma Singh is proud of his duty and feels that the gun he carries is the burden of the country and he does take care of it better than anyone else. He gives a damn to democratic procedures and also guffaws at the so-called procedures involved in it because he feels that the tribals are not educated and ignorant. On the contrary, Newton believes in educating and creating awareness among the people but his efforts are either shot down as civics classes or as not so practical. Malko as a local officer, a tribal herself understands the plight of her people and is trying hard not to succumb to the harsh realities of life. She in her conversations elicit the hope of change by saying – ‘It takes years for a jungle to emerge’ and a ‘Five makes a fist’ when Loknath displays his talent on a pack of cards in predicting the past, present and future of Newton.

Though, Newton ends abruptly causing a bit of confusion among the audience why the screen goes black suddenly; slowly walking out of the theatre the message sinks in that there is still no absolute answers to the issues and problems that have plagued our country for long. When we talk about bullet trains, online payments, aadhar card-linked accounts, and what not, we are still far behind in terms of providing basic amenities like water, electricity, shelter, food, education and security to men, women and children.

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All the actors in the movie are at par, especially RakKummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi and Anjali Patil need special mention for their superlative performances. It is also worth mentioning that Drishyam films have dared to dish out some relevant movies which are worth watching. Hope they continue to do so in the future too. Swapnil Sonawane’s cinematography, Shweta Venkat Mathew’s editing and Music by Naren and Benedict are awesome.

In short, don’t go to watch Newton for entertainment only, but go to get a reason to think and act like Newton and Malko. “Chal Tu Apna Kaam Kar” the song that goes while the credit lines roll, reminds us that no matter what happens, we still need to execute our responsibilities passionately as Indians.

Life Connoisseur Movie Rating: 3.5 /5

Cast: Rajkummar Rao (Newton Kumar), Pankaj Tripathi (Aatma Singh), Anjali Patil (Malko), Raghubir Yadav (Loknath), Sanjay Mishra (Special Appearance), Mukesh Prajapati (Shambhu)

Genre: Comedy

Director: Amit V Masurkar

Producer: Manish Mundra

Written by: Amit V Masurkar

Screenplay: Amit V Masurkar, Mayank Tewari

Music by: Naren Chandvarkar, Benedict Taylor

Cinematography: Swapnil Sonawane

Edited by: Shweta Venkat Mathew

Production Company: Drishyam Films

Distributor: Eros International

Release Date: 22nd September, 2017

Language: Hindi

Duration: 106 Minutes