A charming satire on the dance of democracy

things play out. The focus of this tale is Nutan Kumar (Rajkummar Rao), a boy from of a middle-class Chattisgarh family who decides to change his name to Newton to avoid getting laughed at.

A few years later, he begins a career as a government clerk and is sent to monitor an election in the Naxal-affected Dandakaranya region. It’s a different kind of gravity he’s dealing with here, young Newton’s commanding officer (Sanjai Mishra) points out.

His polling ‘staff’ include another government servant named Loknath (Raghuvir Yadav), who is on the brink of retirement and couldn’t care less; Malko Netam (Anjali Patil), a local teacher who expects nothing from the system and is never disappointed; and a third member who is faithfully obedient but spends most of his time asleep.

Newton is the good guy, passionate about politics and determined to Do His Job. It worries him that the tribals about to vote don’t seem aware of the issues at stake, or who they’re voting for, but his faith in the system is unshakeable. Enter Aatma Singh (Pankaj Tripathi), an egotistic and scheming paramilitary commander in charge of the zone that contains Newton’s booth and its voters.

He’s done this dance before, and all he’s looking to achieve is a minimal casualty count.

But Newton will not be beaten down. In the midst of this are a divided people. Former Naxalites are fighting current Naxalites. Inside intensely beautiful jungles, peopled continue to be killed by outlaws and law enforcers.

Rao, Tripathi, Yadav and Patil are excellent. They are subtle and convincing in a film that remains impartial — and even manages to lighten the mood with some humour — but raises haunting questions about the electoral system. This is a world you will rarely have a chance to explore; do it now.