Press & Industry Screening: Wednesday, 15 February, 11:15 - CinemaxX 6
Public screening Sunday, 19 February, 22:15 - Cubix 9
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India // 2017 // 106 Min // Hindi, Gondi with English Subtitles
(Berlinale Forum)
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As India, the world’s largest democracy, braces itself for another general election - with 9 million polling booths, more than 800 million voters, and costing nearly $5 billion - Newton Kumar (Rajkummar Rao), a rookie government clerk finds himself entrusted with a task that appears deceptively simple: conducting elections in a remote village in the jungles of central India. The bushes teem with Communist guerrillas, who have been waging a decades old war against the state, even as the indigenous tribals live without any access to mainland amenities. Conducting ‘free and fair’ elections in a minefield like this is no child’s play, as Newton learns over the course of this eventful day. Unfazed with the cynicism and danger all around him, Newton is determined to do his duty. But, as they say in the jungle, ‘The more things change, the worse they will get’.
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Director Amit V Masurkar: "When political discourse becomes dull, democracy is in danger. When I voted for the first time, I thought my job was done.I had surrendered my destiny to the hands of a stranger and expected him to bring about change. It took me a while to realise the difference between democracy and electioneering and to understand that true democracy will come only when people become political beings and not mere voters. Newton is a dark comedy about an idealist in a less-than-ideal world. India, which boasts about being the world’s largest democracy, takes elections rather seriously, and in conflict areas, it becomes an opportunity for the state to show its ‘tough love’. As Newton tries to find order in chaos, we find underlying elements of humour and absurdity. I have structured the film around Newton’s three laws of motion – the film begins with inertia, develops momentum in the middle act, and ends with an equal and opposite reaction."
About Amit V Masurkar
Mumbai-based Amit V Masurkar has written for sketch comedy shows and Bollywood films. His directorial debut, the uber low-budget comedy, Sulemani Keeda (89 min, 2014, India-USA) was an indie sleeper hit. Newton is his second film.
Credits
Directed by: Amit V Masurkar
With: Rajkummar Rao, Anjali Patil, Pankaj Tripathi, Raghubir Yadav
Producer: Manish Mundra for Drishyam Films
Script: Mayank Tewari, Amit V Masurkar
Editing: Shweta Venkat Mathew
Production Design: Angelica Monica Bhowmick
Cinematography: Swapnil S Sonawane
Sound: Niraj Gera, Anish John
Music: Naren Chandravarkar, Benedict Taylor
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