LOS ANGELES,CA- Actor Rajkummar Rao lost his mother while he was in the midst of shooting “Newton”, a political black comedy which has been locked as India’s official entry for the foreign language film category at Oscars. He says the blessings of his “guiding star” are taking him places. “Whatever good is happening with ‘Newton’ is because of my mom’s blessings. I really believe in that,” Rajkummar said. The Drishyam Films movie,
produced by Manish Mundra and directed by Amit V Masurkar, features the National Award-winning actor as Nutan Kumar aka Newton, a rookie but sincere government clerk who is sent on election duty to a Naxal-controlled town in the conflict-ridden jungles of Chhattisgarh state in India.
“Newton” had a world premiere at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Art Cinema award in the Forum segment. It also bagged a jury prize for Best Film at the Hong Kong International Film Festival.
Hoping that “Newton” goes further in the Oscar race, and eventually wins, Rajkummar said it stands out because it’s a very “Indian film”.
“I’m happy people saw that Indianness in ‘Newton’. It has a global appeal and it’s so universal in nature, but still so rooted and grounded (in India),” said the actor, who debuted in Hindi filmdom with “Love Sex Aur Dhokha”, and has since won critical acclaim for movies like “Shahid”, “Citylights”, “Aligarh” and “Trapped”.
Director Masurkar
Amit V Masurkar said “It’s like a windfall. We first got all those amazing reviews days before release. Then on the day of the release, we get to hear the film is going as our entry into the Oscars. What more could I ask for.”
So how will he take “Newton” to the Oscars considering Indian films never make it beyond the entry gate.
He is confident his producers would do whatever it takes to give “Newton” a fair chance at the Oscars.
“My producer Manish Mundra and Aanand L. Rai are people with a vast knowledge of cinema and (know) how to take it where it needs to go. They will do the needful,” Masurkar said.
In the meanwhile, he hopes to see “Newton” get some solid eyeballs.
Talking about what made him do a film on the electoral process, he said: “After my first film ‘Sulemani Keeda’, I wanted to do something within the political space. And I didn’t want to make a film about corrupt netas scams and grafts. We’ve seen enough of that. As I thought of what to do next, visions of polling booths, voting machines and presiding officers kept coming to my mind.
Among 26 The film was chosen from among 26 titles from different languages by a 14-member jury appointed by the Film Federation of India. “It was a unanimous decision. Titles like ‘Dangal’ and ‘Mukti Bhavan’ were part of the list,” Supran Sen, secretary general of FFI, said. So far, “Mother India”, “Salaam Bombay!” and “Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India” are the only Indian films that made it to the top five in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Academy Awards, but none have won the honor.
“Newton” had a world premiere at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Art Cinema award in the Forum segment. It also bagged a jury prize for Best Film at the Hong Kong International Film Festival.
Hoping that “Newton” goes further in the Oscar race, and eventually wins, Rajkummar said it stands out because it’s a very “Indian film”.
“I’m happy people saw that Indianness in ‘Newton’. It has a global appeal and it’s so universal in nature, but still so rooted and grounded (in India),” said the actor, who debuted in Hindi filmdom with “Love Sex Aur Dhokha”, and has since won critical acclaim for movies like “Shahid”, “Citylights”, “Aligarh” and “Trapped”.
Director Masurkar
Amit V Masurkar said “It’s like a windfall. We first got all those amazing reviews days before release. Then on the day of the release, we get to hear the film is going as our entry into the Oscars. What more could I ask for.”
So how will he take “Newton” to the Oscars considering Indian films never make it beyond the entry gate.
He is confident his producers would do whatever it takes to give “Newton” a fair chance at the Oscars.
“My producer Manish Mundra and Aanand L. Rai are people with a vast knowledge of cinema and (know) how to take it where it needs to go. They will do the needful,” Masurkar said.
In the meanwhile, he hopes to see “Newton” get some solid eyeballs.
Talking about what made him do a film on the electoral process, he said: “After my first film ‘Sulemani Keeda’, I wanted to do something within the political space. And I didn’t want to make a film about corrupt netas scams and grafts. We’ve seen enough of that. As I thought of what to do next, visions of polling booths, voting machines and presiding officers kept coming to my mind.
Among 26 The film was chosen from among 26 titles from different languages by a 14-member jury appointed by the Film Federation of India. “It was a unanimous decision. Titles like ‘Dangal’ and ‘Mukti Bhavan’ were part of the list,” Supran Sen, secretary general of FFI, said. So far, “Mother India”, “Salaam Bombay!” and “Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India” are the only Indian films that made it to the top five in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Academy Awards, but none have won the honor.
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