Movie Review : Newton

Rating : Excellent (4.3/5)
Genre : Drama
Year : 2017
Running time : 1 hour 46 minutes
Director : Amit Masurkar
Cast : Rajkummar Rao, Anjali Patil, Pankaj Tripathi, Raghubir Yadav, Sanjay Misra
Kid rating : PG-13

Rajkummar Rao (is he on a roll or what?) is Nutan Kumar, a young, idealistic man, a little cog in the big, corrupt Indian bureaucratic machinery. By chance he is a part of the arm of government that is responsible for conducting free and fair elections in every part of India. Also perchance, he comes into contact with a pragmatic idealist, a grey-haired officer (Misra) who inspires him with some straight-talk, on doing the best one can in uncertain, difficult circumstances. Therefore when he is called upon to perform said duty (another colleague quails on traveling to a remote, Naxal-infested area) Nutan marches on headlong.

The film is a detailed treatise on the events that transpire when Nutan, or Newton, as he calls himself, actually reaches the remote Indian village. Everyone around him has imbibed of the “chalta-hai” attitude except for our Newton. He believes that his duty must be done, come hell or high-water. Ergo, there is opposition. Conflicts arise.

A film like Newton makes you think, stays with you days later. I must admit that a character like Newton, full of the clear-hearted goodness of altruism and patriotic duty, incorruptible and steadfast, brings a lump to the throat. A principled man is a rare creature, and the sight of one, even in fiction, leaves one dumbstruck in awe. There is much talk of equality, but in reality the poor, the weak, the easily-trodden-upon get the short end of the stick. Newton actually believes in equality, not because it is enshrined in the constitution or written into law, or decreed by the powers that be, but because that is what he truly believes. How can you not be on his side?

The film makes sharp commentary about the democratic process, the conceptual vs the way it actually plays out in real-life, in fetid Naxal-infested jungles, where the locals neither understand the National language (Hindi) nor the importance of their vote. They only know that the government mostly ignores them, and when it doesn’t, it is only to their detriment. It is a satire where on one hand we see the unwavering Newton bent on educating the handful of tribals who do turn up (or are rounded up perforce by the security task-force) to do their civic duty, and on the other the stolid, apathetic, corrupt government which will probably discount all his efforts. We hold the knowledge of both these opposing forces in our hearts, watch Newton negotiate and barter, threaten and cajole in an effort to do his duty, knowing full well the end result. We weep. A little. A lot.

Kidwise: There is some violence, but nothing too child-scarring. However the film’s import will be lost on the younger set.