Newton: India’s official entry to the Oscars 2018

Director Amit Masurkar’s political satire Newton, starring Rajkummar Rao, will be India’s official entry to the Oscars 2018, the Film Federation of India (FFI) has announced. The Hindi film was the unanimous choice of FFI’s selection committee, headed by Telugu producer C V Reddy. The decision to choose the film, which released today, for the Oscars was the proverbial “cherry on the cake’’.The story actually suggests  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. In terms of entertainment value, ‘Newton’ takes on a completely unremarkable subject. After all, why would anyone want to watch a film on election woes in a remote jungle surrounded by Naxalites? Surely not your average moviegoer who is primarily accustomed to the glitz and glamour of escapist Bollywood. But in the recent past, some films have tried to blur the line between sheer ‘paisa vasool’ quotient and essential social commentary. ‘Newton’ jumps over that divide and runs off with a brilliantly acted, impeccably written, lovingly shot, humorous, yet poignant film that Indian audiences didn’t ask for, but need. Newton is one of the finest political satires we have seen in the last couple of years. It refrains from taking sides and offers a humorous take on state versus the Maoists bloody battle. It raises 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 waiting to be explored, so better do it now. The movie has been released on 22^nd of this month.