Interview: Amit V Masurkar's NEWTON Will Be Shown at the Tribeca Film Festival

When writer-director Amit Masurkar was traveling to small, nondescript towns in the heartland of Chhattisgarh, a mostly rural state in Central India, to film and research for his award-winning film Newton, he was blown away by the rich theatre culture prevalent amongst the rustic population. Impressed by the understanding and appreciation for performing arts of the locals, the filmmaker ended up casting many a regular folk from villages in his movie. According to the director, the fact that the rest of his entire main cast comprising actors such as Rajkummar Rao, Anjali Patil and Raghubir Yadav came from illustrious theatre backgrounds was a happy con-incidence and helped, as the characters understood the depth the story line demanded.

Cut to 2017, and this political satire set in the hinterlands of the world's largest democracy, went on to have its' world premiere at the 67th Berlin Film Festival where it also bagged the International Federation of Art Cinemas (CICAE) award in its forum segment. The accolades haven't stopped for Newton, as it is now set to make its American debut at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival' 17 in New York next month. The film will be competing in the International Narrative Competition section of the festival and is the only Indian fiction feature to be selected in competition at Tribeca this year. Newton is Masurkar's second feature after the 2014 sleeper hit Sulemani Keeda that won rave reviews at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA).

His two unusual but critically acclaimed productions have made director Amit V Masurkar, one of the most sought-out young names in the art house cinema segment in India today. Now ready to take this inherently Indian story to America, we catch up with Mr Masurkar on everything from the emerging indie-cinema scene in India to the significance of theatre in our culture.

Q. The Tribeca Film Festival is amongst the most prestigious film festivals around the world. What are your expectations from the festival and how do you think these platforms help to establish a film?

A. We are extremely excited about the showing at Tribeca. This will be our North America premiere. A festival such as Tribeca is of extraordinary significance as it has got a very independent and fearless voice of its own. Also it will be great to show our film in New York, which is such a multicultural city. Film festivals around the world are important as they help in finding a unique audience for a film. And in the most interesting manner, often the audience find themselves relating to the film despite the fact that it may be coming from a different culture and continent.

Q. Talking about differences, Newton is a film set in the hinterlands of India and speaks of some very deeply ingrained nuances of India as a country. It's about politics, society and dark humor. Does it scare you that a foreign audience may not understand the idea?

A. It does not scare me because I know that a powerful story has a way of connecting with people. The new audience may not be aware of the back history but that does not stop them from feeling universal human emotions. When I watched Platoon, I didn't know the details of the Vietnam War. I enjoyed The Last Emperor without knowing anything about the history of China. The thing about movies is that they open a new world for us to discover. Though I wouldn't deny that there may be two types of audiences for Newton - one those who know the history of the place and would be able to grasp the finer nuances and the other layer would be those who may not know anything about small town democratic complexities in India but would relate to the patterns in American democracy and common human sentiments. In Berlin we were surprised that there were packed houses during all the four shows we did and we were requested to do a fifth one too for the volunteers. So, I don't want to pre-suppose the reactions in NY but I am hopeful that people will find something that they can relate to.

Q. Your research for the film also led to a fascinating discovery of the role of performing arts in the interiors of India. Tell us more about it.

A. I spent a considerable time traveling in the interiors of Chhattisgarh and was pleasantly surprised that theatre forms a pivotal role in the social life of the community there. There were small hamlets and cities; mostly cut-off from the urban life but had a vibrant art culture. The Gondis, a small tribal community, found in parts of central India have a rich dance, music and art culture. Besides this, in Raipur, the capital city of Chhattisgarh theatre is very prominent. One of India's most famous playwright's Habeeb Tanveer was from Raipur and he did considerable work amongst the community to promote theatre even promoting it in local Chhattisgarhi language. There is also a strong influence of Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) in the region and there are annual theatre festivals that get great footfalls. Besides the local community enjoys their street theatres, plays and cultural performances. It is quite riveting to observe how sometimes it is these tiny pockets that are upholding the cultural semblances.

Q. You have shown to the American audiences once before too at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) where your debut movie Sulemani Keeda got great critical appraise. How would you describe your experience?

A. It has been a very enriching experience. At IFFLA, the organizers rent an entire villa and put all the filmmakers there. What happens is that you end up interacting with and knowing everyone and it becomes a community. The try and introduce you Hollywood artists. They also conduct mixers and arrange for you to meet creative artists from around the world and exchange ideas. Besides LA is such a vibrant city. My first time experience there was also special because Roger Avary, co-writer of Pulp Fiction, whom I had contacted years ago online because I was a big fan of the movie agreed to graciously come with his daughter when I told him that debut film got selected for IFFLA.

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