The movie Newton has won the 2018 National Film Award for Best Hindi Film, and there was perhaps no other film more deserving.
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While there has never been a dirge of over dramatic emotions, sexist songs, and predictable storylines with Bollywood movies, Newton was a breath of much-needed fresh air.
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At the core of it, the original story was different, engaging and thought provoking. In short, Newton, as a film, made you think!
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But of course, for such a story to work, it is integral for the actors to make their characters come alive.
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Something that Rajkummar Rao and Pankaj Tripathi, and the wonderful supporting cast of Anjali Patil and Raghubir Yadav among others, seemed to be effortlessly good at.
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While one may tend to place Rajkummar Rao in the role of a hero and Pankaj Tripathi as a villain, look closely and you’ll find both characters are not traditional opposing leads.
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They are characters who are not completely right or wrong – they are the characters that reside in ‘grey’ space.
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This is perhaps why Pankaj Tripathi’s (who has proved his versatility as an actor with ever role he’s donned) National Award seems definitely well-deserved.
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And while 2017 was definitely Rajkummar Rao’s year, it seems another role may help him earn the coveted National Film Award.
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Having seen his talent, this is definitely not a hard thing to imagine.
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Awarding a movie like Newton offers a very obvious encouragement to writers, directors and actors, who want to break the norm and present meaningful cinema, and Thank God for that!