Newton

A young man of principle is the presiding officer of a polling booth deep in naxal controlled area in Chhattisgarh. He crosses swords with the chief of military staff posted in the area. Both have orders to follow and doing their job.

This film is a critique on the state of democracy in India and how it's not all black and white. The good part is that the writer and director are neutral and don't have a point to make. The audience is left to draw his own conclusion.

A must watch.

Now they say Bollywood has disappointed in 2017 with films like Tubelight, Jagga Jasoos, When Harry Met Sejal or a Rangoon. I would say Bollywood has matured with films like Trapped, Hindi Medium, Bareily Ki Barfi, Shubh Mangal Savdhaan and Newton. For me, cinema has to be good which should entertain me despite having a Salman Khan or Rajkumar Rao.

Newton tells the story of an honest government officer who performs his duty to make sure there is a fair voting in the Naxalite-hit area in India.

From the director of good comedy film Sulemaani Keeda, Amit Masurkar has taken a bold step to explore the state of voting in extremely rural and sensitive area of Chattisgarh. The film ignites the fact about the villagers who are unaware of the privileges they have to choose the leaders they want, despite having a voter ID card. The film also showcases the apathy of security forces and the hunger to get the limelight from media by high level officers.

The script is pretty good while editing tends to gets slower though it will never bore you out. Dialogues are nice filled with humor. Background score gels well with the mood of the film. Art direction is amazing while Cinematography is splendid. The film boast of some mind-blowing performances. Rajkumar Rao hits the bull's eye with his sparkling performance. The actor steals the thunder with his dynamic acting. Pankaj Tripathi as chief commander will surprise you with admiring performance. Raghuvir Yadav is marvelous while Anjali Patil impresses with her simple yet powerful role.

As the Newton's first law states "objects will remain in their state of motion unless a force acts to change the motion", the film gives the same message. Overall, it was a good experience for me watching a film like Netwon. Excellent 4/5

I saw this fabulous Indian film called "Newton" last night which by the way is the only Indian film to be screened at this year's New Zealand International Film Festival. This film was screened at Cannes and I guess this is the second festival after the Festival de Cannes where it is being showcased. In a nutshell, this film is about an election officer who takes the responsibility of going into a forest ridden with armed revolutionaries in order to collect votes from the local residents.

I had read somewhere that Isaac Newton, the genius scientist, was actually a very complicated man. His namesake in this film seemed no different. While his intentions were good, his method of executing them was questionable. Which is why when you see this film, you will wonder if the protagonist is actually the antagonist. Everything in cinema is a matter of perspective. The film is infused with dark humour from start to finish and Rajkumar Rao is nothing short of a brilliant actor.

Because this was a festival film, I saw this film with a primarily Kiwi audience which is always a great thing. I want Indian films to have a global audience. If main-stream Bollywood films don't attract a foreign fan-following, art-house festival circuit low-budget films certainly will. It is so ironic that I saw this film at a time when New Zealand is preparing for the upcoming elections This film appeared so minimalist yet was nothing short of a funny edge-of-the-seat thriller.

Newton is just not a brave film but perhaps the most important film of the year. It is a satirical take on Indian election process which discusses the loopholes in the system while strengthening the faith on world's largest democracy.

A simple tale about an ambitious government officer commissioned to conduct a fair election in an isolated Naxalist/Maoist area in Chattisgarh who carries his honesty as a badge of honor. Rajkumar Rao plays the lead role and aces it - a stubborn character driven by self-righteousness who is not tainted by the corruption and cynicism that we as Indians have come to embrace, so often, so regularly. The supporting cast is equally brilliant with Pankaj Tripathi, Raghubir Yadav and Sanjay Mishra leaving a lasting impression.

It is not a preachy movie but tries to help us understand the importance of voting and how individual opinions can collectively establish or overrun a system. Our need for an able administrator, our desire to take powers in hand, and our faith in the system while establishing an honest government all lies within our reach – by just casting the vote. To begin the change, we must take responsibility and do our bit.

A script made of fine witty and subversive humour even when the subject is a serious one, is what makes Newton the film, so unique. It most certainly will defy gravity to fly high in the corridors of Bollywood Cinema. If possible, go watch this in theater. We as an audience rarely get a chance to watch such an absorbing movie – may be to just encourage such a genuine piece of art. Do cast your vote sensibly!

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!