5 Reasons why Newton worked well
1. It showed the story of an idealist really well and kept to that point. The character 'Newton' Kumar is so well established in the movie. Firstly he calls himself Newton to be different from the name given to him by his parents - Nutan. He says no to marrying a 16 year old for dowry. He does not believe a government job is a way to make money but to serve the country. So when he is sent to a election constituency in a Maoist dominated area prone to violence to conduct election duty as a last minute replacement, he wants to conduct it as per the rules. Rajkumar Rao plays the character so well. Watch out for scenes where he shows his frustration but is still forthright.
2. The theme of 'Seedha Aadmi Ulti Duniya' as per the trailer is the underlying fodder of the supremely well written screenplay that lends itself to the black comedy of the movie. From his eyes whatever is non-ideal , is real. The situations bring this alive. So while the election needs to be conducted, the people around worry more about real estate prices and what to eat for lunch.
3. The situational elements starts to waltz right from when Newton and his colleagues ( a brilliant Raghubir Yadav) land from a helicopter to the controlled election area where a supremely effective Pankaj Tripathi briefs Newton on how 'his method' will work for making sure there will be some minimum polling that will be 'state' managed. These interludes are the crux of the movie where Pankaj Tripathi is the upholder of both systems - the men in uniform and also a system where everyone wants a photo-perfect election that really does not help anyone in the constituency. Pankaj Tripathi is so good that he should have won an award.
4. The politics and state of the adivasis is realistically well captured. Its epitomized in the dialogues between the local person who is part of the election process. Newton tells them they are all 'Nirashavadi' (pessimists' since they do not believe in the process and the governments intent to help them. She replies in a dead pan manner - I am an Adivasi. This shows the deep divide that exists in the country. There is a lack of faith in the process due to the hurt and neglect of several years, and there is mostly lip service, vested interests and self-seeking behaviour in the political establishment.
5. It is real . you feel it. You can see yourself in that Chattisgarh village. You can see this would have been a real story. That is what makes the movie fantastic.
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