Newton

Spoiler alert! Please do not read the following plot summary if you have not seen the film.A middle-class family in Chhattisgarh watches a terrifying attack by Naxals on TV. Newton is reading an election commission manual. He is an ordinary office clerk who volunteers for election duty. At a briefing with the election committee, Newton challenges the officer addressing the team. The officer tells him that his problem isn’t that he’s honest, but that he’s so proud to be that way. The officer also curiously asks about his name, to which Newton replies that he changed his original name from Nutan to Newton in honor of Isaac Newton. After a colleague backs out from the responsibility due to an apparent illness, Newton takes over as the officer responsible for conducting polls in a village based in Chhattisgarh known for its Maoist influence. After reaching Dandakaranya, Newton realizes this will be a challenging situation for him.

On the way to the CRPF camp, one of the soldiers refers to a nearby area as “Pakistan”. When Newton presses him, he shrugs and says that it’s enemy territory, but that the Naxals don’t control it anymore. At the camp, the officer in charge, Aatma Singh, suggests that they don’t venture out and his men can conduct the elections themselves. Newton insists that Aatma signs a declaration saying the same. They’re outfitted with bullet-proof vests but officer Malko, a local, insists she’s safer without one. The team is then escorted by the platoon to the polling venue which is an abandoned school in a compound. Newton and Aatma Singh constantly are at odds with each other since Aatma is cynical about the elections, but Newton is persistently diligent about his duty. The locals are more concerned about their basic needs and survival and don’t comprehend the need for an election as it doesn’t enhance their lives.

Newton’s colleagues are not exactly pro-active either. Loknath does not take the process seriously. Malko realizes the entire exercise is pointless but respects Newton’s sense of duty. Being a local, she’s the only person aware of the ground reality. Newton is sad to see the current state of affairs. A foreign reporter arrives at the polling station to document elections in the world’s largest democracy. The security forces round up some villagers to show up at the station to create the impression of a good turnout for the cameras. The villagers are completely unaware of the voting process. Newton tries to educate them but to no avail. Aatma Singh further briefs them that the voting machine is a toy and tells them to choose their favorite symbol from the list.

Following this, the team awaits the closing time. Newton insists that they shouldn’t wrap up early in case someone shows up, which further agitates Aatma Singh and team. They stage an act by the Naxalites and use that as an excuse to remove everyone from the polling station, and rush for their safety. However, Newton soon realizes this was planned and retaliates by turning back and running to the polling station, only to prove his point. He is soon surrounded and forced away. Four villagers suddenly turn up from deep inside the forest and Newton insists on collecting their votes. When Aatma Singh flatly refuses, Newton retaliates by holding the security forces at gun point while the villagers cast their votes. After the voting, Newton doesn’t give up for the remaining two minutes of his official duty till 3 pm. The security forces then beat him up in frustration.

Some days later, Aatma Singh is shopping with his family. It is implied he has been fired from his job. Meanwhile, Malko pays Newton a visit in a government office. Even though he’s recovering from the beating, his will and determined isn’t rattled as he continues to be a diligent officer.