Movie Review: Newton
This film could well be as well remembered (by those who are wise enough to see it) as the person after whom it is named. Even as news trickles in that it is our official entry at the Oscars you know that it will stand up to international scrutiny. This is saying a lot about a Hindi film. Any film with Raj Kumar Rao in the cast is an insurance for quality. So you know that your ticket is a guarantee to some fine cinematic moments. Rao ensures that and there are others in perfect sync with him.
Director Amit Masurkar tells a simple story with huge implications and leaves the rest to the understanding of the viewer. Newton (Raj Kumar Rao ) is a greenhorn babu pressed into election duty . He is required to go to the middle of nowhere – an area suffering from Naxal activities (and unstated police excess) in Chhattisgarh. Danger is looming large. The para military is out there to police the scenario. We have Aatma Singh (Pankaj Tripathi) in charge of security and is obviously of the strong belief that he is the king of the situation. While he places safety as a priority, Newton says the conduct of elections in strict compliance of the rule book is imperative. The situation throws up the conflict.
The entire film is shot in the tense atmosphere of the forests of Chhattisgarh and without a whisper of the Salwa Judum group. The police vs the electoral office comes for a sharp yet subtle impact. What raises the level of the narrative is the perfect presence of Raj Kumar Rao as the officer on duty and the amazing (not a minute wrong) performance of Pankaj Tripathi. The tragedy of our cinema is that such films and such actors do not get the attention and recognition they deserve. This is glorious cinema and is told without exaggeration, told with sincerity and without intellectual dishonesty. Kudos to the support staff (Raghuvir Yadav, Anjali Patil Sanjay Misra) for playing their roles to a nicety. Even if you are alone, make bold and watch the movie. Savour the experience of good cinema. It does not happen too often here. If this film flops it is not an indication of the film, it reflects the mental unpreparedness of the audience and that is no cultural compliment to the aggregate.
Liveblog Updates:
A woman was killed and four other civilians were injured in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district as the Pakistan army intensified artillery fire across the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, officials said, adding that a large number of houses have also been damaged in the cross-border shelling.
Reports state that a Pakistani shell struck the vehicle the woman was traveling in, resulting in her death. The woman was identified as Nargis Bashir, and some of her family members had boarded a vehicle to flee from the Razarwani village in Uri that was hit by the mortar and artillery shells from Pakistan.
In an attempt to educate and make people aware about the consequences of war amid Pakistan's continuous firing in the border states, the Delhi government did a mock drill to test air raid sirens installed at the Public Works Department (PWD) at ITO and asked people to not react out of panic.
District Magistrate (Central) G. Sudhakar also urged people to remain calm and not be alarmed when they hear the sirens.
At least twice, sirens sounded during the drill, which started at 3 pm.
PWD Minister Parvesh Verma said 40-50 more such sirens will be installed across the national capital, each of which will cover an area of 8 km.
Residents present in Rajouri along the Line of Control have started moving to safer areas after heavy cross-border shelling and attempted drone and missile attacks last night by Pakistan. All drone and missile attacks were intercepted and foiled by India's air defence system.
#WATCH | J&K | Residents of Rajouri living along the LOC have started moving to safer areas after heavy cross-border shelling and attempted drone and missile attacks last night by Pakistan.
— ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2025
All drone and missile attacks were intercepted by India's air defence system and foiled,… pic.twitter.com/XITK0CsejT
Pakistan has claimed that its Economic Affairs Division account on social media has been hacked and called the post where it appealed for more loans from the international community owing to losses from Operation Sindoor "fake."
In a post on X, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Fact Checker shared a picture of the post and mentioned that it was "fake." Additionally, it asserted that the account had undergone hacking.
A missile-like object is found deep inside the Dal Lake after loud explosions were heard on Saturday morning in Srinagar, which is a major tourist attraction. The defense ministry also confirms that Pakistan has intruded into Srinagar's airspace in a press release.
Since the early hours of Saturday morning (10th May), Srinagar has been rocked with multiple explosions, and now electricity is taken off in various places across Kashmir. The reason for this is yet to be determined, as reports indicate multiple places in Kashmir have lost power. The Indian Army released a statement after the press briefing, where they mentioned that they have attacked and neutralized multiple terrorist launchpads in a coordinated fire assault, razing them to cinders.