Newton movie review: It's delight for true cinema lovers, if not for Bollywood masala seekers

RATING: 4

MOVIE: Newton

CAST: Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Raghuvir Yadav and Anjali Patil

DIRECTOR: Amit V Masurkar

GENRE: Bollywood dark comedy

At a time when box office numbers decide the worth of a Bollywood movie, non-commercial films like Newton truly restore the faith in Indian cinema. This dark comedy movie is far from being any typical Bollywood masala entertainer, but Newton has everything that a good cinema lover would seek for.

STORYLINE

Nutan Kumar aka Newton (Rajkummar Rao), a newly appointed government official, is vey obedient and sincere on his duty. And he wants everybody else to be the same. He gets his first ever election duty at a Naxal-hit jungle area in Chhattisgarh.

On reaching the area, Newton comes across an Army official Aatma Singh (Pankaj Tripathi), who is responsible for his and his team members' security. While Newton is a strict follower of the rule book, Aatma has his own way of conducting the polls. This eventually caused frequent verbal duals between the two.

Amidst constant fear of an attack by the Naxalites and apathy around him, Newton faces a series of difficulties in conducting a free and fair voting. How and in what circumstances he finally completes his task, makes an interesting watch.

PERFORMANCES

Rajkummar Rao is one of the finest Bollywood actors in the young crop, and he proves the same yet again. He portrays the character of a simple middle class lad, who is passionate about his job, to great perfection. Although Rajkummar's character plays a heroic part in the movie, he skillfully shows the sense of fear that any common man would feel in such situations.

Pankaj Tripathi is another big supporting pillar in the movie. He has showed his brilliance in films like Gangs of Wasseypur, and in Newton too, he is a delight to watch. Pankaj plays the role of a rough but calm Army official in a way that makes you laugh as well feel the depth of his character.

Veteran actor Raghuvir Yadav is seen as a member of the poll team. Although he doesn't take a central space in the film, he shows how a supporting actor can grab attention, and add some special moments in a film. Anjali Patil, a local resident in the movie, also is a member of the government team. She has limited space in Newton but too essays a promising performance.

POSITIVES

Apart from the brilliant performances, director Amit V Masurkar's narration of the simple yet effective plot is praise worthy. With a limited star cast, he created a movie that takes sharp sarcastic digs at the evils in the country, which have become so common that they are taken for granted. Although Newton has a serious plot, there are a number of moments of light humour that make the movie even more special.

NEGATIVES

The first half of the film may appear too slow. Also, one may find the climax of the film a little abrupt, but considering the overall treatment of the movie, there is hardly any loophole.

VERDICT

A typical Bollywood masala movie seeker may find it boring as it is sans songs, romance and action. But for a true cinema lover, Newton is a delight to watch, and has rightfully been nominated for the Oscars 2018.