Newton (2017)

A government clerk on election duty in the conflict ridden jungle of Central India tries his best to conduct free and fair voting despite the apathy of security forces and the looming fear of guerrilla attacks by communist rebels.

Director:

Amit Masurkar

Writers:

Amit Masurkar (screenplay), Mayank Tewari (screenplay)

Stars:

Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Anjali Patil

Top Rated Indian Movies #142 | 12 wins & 24 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Rajkummar Rao	...	Newton Kumar
Pankaj Tripathi	...	Aatma Singh (as Pankaj Tripathy)
Anjali Patil	...	Malko
Raghuvir Yadav	...	Loknath
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ishar Ahmed	...	S News Camerman
Nahida Ali	...	Lila's Sister In Law
Nisar Ali	...	Lila's Nephew
Nizam Ali	...	Lila's Brother
Vinod B.	...	S News Reporter
Jangli Bai	...	Scared Villager
Ragho Bai	...	Questioning Village Woman 2
Vaijanti Bai	...	Chicken Cook
Sulekha Begum	...	Lila's Grandmother
Krishna Singh Bisht	...	Krishna
Sunil Ramkrishna Borkar	...	Kamal Kishore

Storyline

As India, the world's largest democracy, braces itself for another general election- with 9 million polling booths, more than 800 million voters, and costing nearly $5 billion -- Newton Kumar, a rookie government clerk finds himself entrusted with a task that appears deceptively simple: conducting elections in a remote village in the jungles of central India. The bushes teem with Communist guerrillas, who have been waging a decades old war against the state, even as the indigenous tribals live without any access to mainland amenities. Conducting 'free and fair' elections in a minefield like this is no child's play, as Newton learns over the course of this eventful day. Unfazed with the cynicism and danger all around him, Newton is determined to do his duty. But, as they say in the jungle, 'The more things change, the worse they will get'.

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Plot Keywords:

election | officer | honesty | duty | forest | 

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Taglines:

Electoral Rumble in the jungle.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

22 September 2017 (India)

Also Known As:

Ньютон

Filming Locations:

Dalli Rajhara Forest, Balod, Chhatishgarh, India

Company Credits

Production Co:

Drishyam Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Color:

Color (ACES)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Newton was released to a universal critical acclaim and was also a commercial success.

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Goofs

When Newton meets Aatma singh for the first time, there is a part of sacred thread ( Janeoo) which is visible . In the subsequent frames in the same scene, there is no sign of the sacred thread.

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Quotes

Aatma Singh: As per the rules, I can't come in. Feel bad seeing you like this. The situation was beyond our control.
Newton Kumar: We both had a job to do.
Aatma Singh: I'd feel guilty if you didn't eat.
[offering a plate of food, then automatic gun fire in the near distance]
Newton Kumar: What was that?

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Connections

References Saajan Chale Sasural (1996)

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Soundtracks

Panchi Ud Gaya
Performed by Mohan Kanan

User Reviews

A Rarity in Bollywood

Movies like these rarely come in Bollywood and I really applaud their marketing tactics. They released the film on the day of announcement of the film being sent for Oscars, which was a good gamble. There's no way a lot of people who have seen this movie, and made it a success, would have watched it otherwise.

There is a much needed class and subtlety in this movie. I specially like the suggestion they made with the shopping mall scene. Nothing was said but a lot was done! Something that is a big rarity in Bollywood. The movie tackles a serious, controversial and conversation-sparking topic with extreme good care. They managed to make people laugh while making them aware about a lot of things going on in the country.

The director needs to be applauded for this one. He has a very firm grasp on Indian culture and it's nuances. He chooses to portray it really well. No unnecessary dramatization was done. Minimalistic approach of the director makes the movie appealing. The cinematography is brilliant and refreshing.

The screenplay is smooth and never feels abrupt nor slows down to boring at any point. The film has been edited well enough to make it an engaging 1-hour-46-minutes experience.

When you have Rajkummar Rao in the movie, you do not doubt the acting skills but even he has bested himself with this one! The typical character nuances, speech, diction, blinking of eye, he perfected literally everything!

Final verdict: A MUST WATCH. I really hope people would make this a bigger success (chances are scarce) so that the producers would start shifting their focus from unbearably stupid movies like Judwa 2 to classy satirical movies like this!