When Nutan Kumar, son of a middle class family in
Chattisgarh, decides to change his name to Newton to avoid getting laugh at, he
doesn’t know anywhere it will lead him. After a few years, at what time he is a
government clerk and is sent to conduct a free and fair election in the
Maoist-hit Dandakaranya region, he realises the significance of Newton’s
discovery of the gravitational force. It’s just that, in real life, not
everybody has a similar free fall the way Newton predicted.
Actually, this is a chat between Newton Kumar (Rajkummar
Rao), a first time presiding officer bubbling with enthusiasm and nearly
cynical honesty, and his commanding officer played by Sanjai Mishra.
During a casual conversation, an old and wise Mishra statistics
out how Newton wears his integrity as the badge of honour and is ready to fight
till the end to protect it. He advises Newton to do his duty without thinking
that he is doing any favour to his fellow beings as this is what he is supposed
to do. Later, in the interiors of the jungles in Bastar, Newton seems resolute
to treat everyone equal in front of the electronic voting machine.
Though Newton is conscious of the high disappointment and
illiteracy rate among the locals yet he is hopeful about the role of a fair
election and how it can bring a potential change in their lives. He appears
like a nice guy whose apolitical views are more following than most of us. He
won’t take names of the politicians or the parties, but wants the adivasis to
cast their votes at any cost. He wants the voters to make an informed decision,
but won’t pressurise them. His confidence in the proper functioning of the
system is unshakeable.
Unfortunately, his booth that has only 76 register voters
comes under the jurisdiction of Aatma Singh (Pankaj Tripathi), an egoistic and
scheming para-military commander.
During polling, a preside officer becomes the commanding
officer of his booth by designation and that starts a tussle between Newton and
Singh. None of them seems to back down and it appears they both are waiting for
a trigger point. Of course, the rules will be followed, even in hostility.
After all, they both are serving the same government.
From refusing to marry a minor for Rs 10 lakh cash and a
motorcycle to standing up for the common people’s rights, Newton is when common
as any of us. He can easily be beaten up, but we all know he will rise, again
and again. He follows the rules and will formulate you do the same. His spine
is not bent yet.
The contrast come in the form of his staff during the polls.
Loknath (Raghuvir Yadav), an government servant on the brink of retirement, and
Malko Netam (Anjali Patil), a local teacher, are there to help him, save for
they don’t share the same sentiments.
While Loknath, who keeps thinking farcical zombie stories,
takes polling as just another day in his life, Malko initially seems hopeful
but slowly starts to give up against a mighty and corrupt system. There is
another team affiliate who mostly sleep or does whatever he is asked to.
This team, except Malko, didn’t expect how bad could be the
ground reality. Nobody understands proper Hindi or has inclination to get into
the depths of the system. They’re simply living amid poverty, corruption and an
unjust administration.
The vividness of the director Amit Masurkar, who earlier
made a very talkative Sulemaani Keeda, is visible here. Not much action is
shown and yet we know the scale of violence that is rampant in the area. He
suggests more than an ideological war that both parties, the Maoist and the
state, would like us to believe they are raging. In fact, it’s a battle to
retain physical control in excess of the region. In the film, a character
candidly says, “We want to break free from both the government forces and the
Maoists.”
We travel inside the striking jungles that witness hundreds
of murders and encounters every year. It’s a place for five-yearly visit for
the national and international media. They come here armed with their
microphones and high-end cameras to cover the insane dance of democracy, only
to be fooled by the local officers. They see and capture only what they are
shown, because not many care to investigate once the elections are over. smooth
if they do the administration wouldn’t let them.
Masurkar shows us the whole thing from a neutral
perspective. There are biases and there are parties. If Newton is taking
forward the government’s agenda, Aatma Singh is also doing the same. Loknath’s
aloofness and Malko’s noticeable concerns resonate within us. It’s a lay of
terrible paradoxes and miscalculated sentiment.
Former Maoists have connected the government to fight
against their ex-colleagues. The locals struggle hard against fate and lack of
resources, and don’t want much outside interference in their day-to-day life.
And the urban intelligentsia believe it’s their duty to lay out rules for the
uneducated, rural junta. It’s all messed up. on or after the outset, it doesn’t
look anything more than a routine exercise to maintain the one-upmanship sandwiched
between the state and the violent guerillas.
Newton is sad to see the existing state of affairs. Loknath
doesn’t care. Malko thinks nothing will change. The other person keeps
sleeping. Aatma Singh is also human who has a family to take care of and is
worried about the safety of his people. The the media are confused, mostly
clueless. Top officers want a media face-lift and the locals go about their
usual businesses like basic farming and ‘hadiya’ (a kind of alcoholic
beverage). Zero disarticulation.
Newton is one of the finest supporting satires we have seen
in the last couple of years. It refrains from taking sides and offers a
humorous take on state against the Maoists bloody battle. It raises important
questions on the importance of the electoral system we are so proud of. It
takes us much beyond what we see. The team of Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi,
Raghuvir Yadav and Anjali Patil has come up with a top-notch performance. It’s
a world coming up to be explored, so better do it now.
