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EXCLUSIVE: Newton Director Amit V Masurkar: Rajkummar Rao is so much like Newton
Newton director Amit V Masurkar gets candid about his movie and Rajkummar Rao.
Rajkummar Rao in Newton has created ripples at the box office and proved yet again that content is the ultimate KING. A simple storyline with a heartwarming message of hope, Rajkummar's performance will immediately grip you.
It's no wonder that the movie is India's official entry for the Oscars, this year!
Before the movie released on September 22, 2017, we had a tête-à-tête with Newton's director Amit V Masurkar who spoke to us about the inception of Newton, working with Rajkummar as well as the clash with Sanjay Dutt's Bhoomi and Shraddha Kapoor's Haseena Parkar.
Excerpts from the interview:
How did the story for Newton make its inception?
I was interested in doing something in the political space. I was thinking about what to do and was writing different words on the computer while brainstorming. Some of the words I wrote were electronic voting machine, election booth and election officer. When I wrote all this, I realised that there is a story here. Most of the political movies that you see are sagas that are spread over a long period of time with politicians and their intriguing journey. I thought it was interesting to base something on one day which is the day of the election in a polling booth and do something completely fresh from a new perspective. That is how the story was born.
Is Newton inspired by a real-life character?
There are several people like this. In fact, Isaac Newton was a purist who was in search of order in chaos and our Newton is similar to that. At the same time, we read about these people in newspapers. People who are extremely upright and do their duty right. I was fascinated by these characters because I'm definitely nowhere close to Newton as I break rules all the time. Newton for me was a fascinating character. You read about people who do their jobs and get punished for it. That is why I wrote about Newton.
What made you feel that Rajkummar Rao was the apt choice to play Newton?
When I wrote Newton, I wasn't really thinking of anyone honestly. I wrote a draft and I thought no one will make this as I showed it to a couple of studios and they were not very interested as it was a political film. But after Sulemani Keeda released, everyone who approached me wanted to make something similar to a buddy romantic comedy sort of a thing. But when I showed it to Manish Mundra, he said 'let's do this film with Rajkummar.' Immediately, I felt that Raj is the guy. Raj is so much like Newton. So, it was a no-brainer.
What was the brief given to Rajkummar in order for him to prepare for Newton?
When he read the script, it was pretty much self-explanatory. Everything was written in detail so I didn't have to brief him. Once you know that an actor has connected with a character and understands the character's needs then you don't have to do anything. Instead, let the actor enjoy the character. Let him be Newton. So, I didn't have to do much. I just had to facilitate it.
How was it finally working with Rajkummar in Newton?
Rajkummar is a very intuitive actor. He's very serious about his work but he's also a lot of fun. On set, he's not sitting in the corner and mulling about his role. He participates, he eats with everyone and he has fun. But, the moment he is in front of the camera, he switches on his acting. What I like about him most is that - for this role, he had to wake up at 3:30-4:00 in the morning to get ready. He had to get his hair done because he had to sport curly hair in the film. Before that, he used to do his exercises and reach on the set at 6 am sharp as we used to start shooting. He's extremely dedicated and he'll go to any lengths to achieve what he wants to achieve.
How was it working with an established filmmaker like Aanand L. Rai?
Aanand L. Rai came on board just a month before as a presenter for Newton. I had assisted him many years ago and I used to know him. He's a very generous person. We were supposed to release Newton on a different date, initially but when he saw the poster, he called me up and said 'Hey listen! I want to watch your film.' He watched it and said that if he releases it, (they were initially planning a 150 screens release) if he gets Eros on board then we can make it a bigger film, we can give it a bigger release. I'm really grateful that he is on board and that Newton is getting a bigger release. That it is not going to be a small urban release anymore.
What is your take on Newton's release date clashing with Sanjay Dutt's Bhoomi and Shraddha Kapoor's Haseena Parkar?
I'm not really nervous because I feel that our audiences are quite different. I think that every film will find its own audience.
How important is box office success to you?
Box office success is important for the film because it has to be sustainable. How long will you continue making films if they don't make money at the box office? So it's important that they make money at the box office and overall so that more films are made by everyone involved in this process.
As a director, what is more important to you - the content of the movie or the commercial aspect of the movie?
For me, I believe that nowadays, films with good content are doing well. I think that is slowly becoming a commercial aspect now. The audience is getting to see so many shows on the Internet, which you can watch and not just in Hindi, like Game of Thrones. It's not just a box office competition anymore. You have to give a good reason to the audience to come and watch your film. I think it's content, obviously.
What is your take on the current voting system in India?
I think the election commission has a huge responsibility and they do it quite well. They are very efficient and if you look at the way they conduct elections...the number of polling booths and the number of people involved in the voting process, the amount of planning that goes into it. It's actually the biggest election in the world. So the voting process is a very well-oiled machinery and it is improving with time.
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