Newton - Jhande aur Dande se desh banta hai
OM DCOSTA | 28 November 2017 15:15 IST
Rating- 4.5/5 Newton is a riveting blend of political satire, dark humor and serious drama. It gives viewers a lot to muse about during and after the movie is over, and the laughs every few minutes or so does not make it a somber viewing.
The story follows a team of the Election Commission sent to conduct elections in a small hamlet, deep inside the conflict prone jungles of Chattisgarh, where the Naxal influence is prominent.
Primarily, viewers will be left wondering about the futility of elections, mostly so in remote/ backward villages of India, where the harsh reality is that the candidates and elected representatives remember their constituents, the very people who elected them, only near/ around the time of elections, and when the media is covering some event there.
Another important issue served up by Newton as food for thought is administrative laxity, red tape-ism etc. that prevents the armed forces from serving with basic protection gear and technical equipment, especially so in high risk areas such as depicted in the film.
Rajkumar Rao (Newton), as an upright, disciplined EC official, is outstanding, and equally noteworthy are the performances of Pankaj Tripathi (Asst. Commandant Atma Singh), Loknath (Raghubir Yadav) and Anjali Patil (Malko Netam) .
This is just the second film of Amit Masurkar, but it shows his immense talent and experience, akin to that of a seasoned professional.
Newton was unanimously selected as India’s official entry to the Academy Awards (Oscars) 2018, and this has increased the attention the film has received. It is a well known fact that the chances of winning an Academy Award are proximately related to the promotion of the film, and it remains to be seen what the relatively green, yet highly successful Drishyam Films can do towards that end.
