Newton Movie Review: Rajkummar Rao Deserves Your ‘Vote’

Amit Masurkar made his directorial debut with Sulemaani Keeda, an urban comedy about two struggling writers, which is why, his decision to make a satire set against the backdrop of elections in Naxal-infested areas, came as a surprise to many. Was Amit trying to make a point with Newton? Or was he just telling a story because it is something he came up with? Let’s find out...

Set in the Naxal-infested jungles of Central India, Newton revolves around Nutan Kumar a.k.a Newton (Rajkummar Rao), an honest and upright election officer, who is dispatched to an area of Chattisgarh to conduct free and fair elections with the help of the local militia headed by Commandant Atma Singh (Pankaj Tripathi), his reluctant guardian angel. Aiding Newton in this mission are Shambhu (Mukesh Prajapati), Loknath (Raghuvir Yadav) and Malko (Anjali Patil).

However, conducting elections in an area where Naxals rule with an iron fist is easier said than done. Will our hero manage to overcome all odds and pull it off? Watch the film to find out...

Rajkummar Rao, who is easily one of the finest actors we have in the Indian film industry today, plays his part with admirable restraint and shines through with his performance, even when sharing screen space with stalwarts like Sanjay Mishra and Raghuvir Yadav (who is a class apart when it comes to performance). Pankaj Tripathi is quite believable as Atma Singh, the cynical soldier, who scoffs at Newton’s idealism because he has seen life first-hand and knows that the world is not a cheery place. Anjali Patil as the local Adivasi Malko, who is modern but sceptical about the change promised by the Government, impresses us with her natural performance.

What I liked about the film was that it doesn’t take any sides and presents the situation as it is. The local tribes have their own system of living and couldn’t care less about their right to vote, unless they get paid for it. On the other hand, the government is hell bent on making them exercise their right to vote (even if it has to coerce them) while the local Communists threaten them with guns against voting. In a country, where free and fair elections are something to be taken for granted, Newton is like cold water thrown in your face, which awakens you to plight of India beyond the urban horizon. Though Newton deals with such a serious subject, Masurkar has laced the narrative with doses of humour, which makes the film an easy watch.

Another thing that works for the movie is Masurkar’s resolute refusal to portray Newton as a hero. In fact, in one of the scenes in the first half of the film, senior officer Sanjay Mishra chides Newton for what he calls his ‘arrogance of honesty’ and reminds him that being honest is not something to be smug about as it is expected of him and that he is not doing something extraordinary by being honest. This is something that I had never seen before in any Indian film as such upright characters are lauded by others as they end up doing something heroic by the end of the movie. In conclusion, Newton is one of the few intelligently written films to have come out this year...

If you are bored with regular ‘dance and song’ routine films and are a Rajkummar Rao fan, Newton should not be missed at all...