Amit Masurkar: If ‘Newton’ was a copy would it be selected for the Oscars?

Rajkummar Rao starrer ‘Newton’ has recently been making the headlines after it was selected as India’s official entry for the Oscars. But apparently, the film is allegedly inspired by the Iranian film ‘Secret Ballot’. There are a few similarities between both the films. Both movies deal with the premise of an honest protagonist who is sent to a remote village area to ensure the smooth running of the elections in that area and is challenged by the conditions and officials.

However, director Amit Masurkar came to the defense of his film and stated, “The film has travelled to all international film festivals and has been awarded, if it were a copy do you think this would have happened? All these allegations have begun when it landed in India. I don’t even know about the film or the story of Secret Ballot.” I have just watched a little bit of it after people starting talking about the similarities in the two films.”

He added, “In gangster films, there is always someone’s death in family that has led to the story of the gangster and there are honest officers everywhere. As for my film, it is an original story and is rooted in Chattisgarh. I didn’t even know that there was a film like Secret Ballot when we worked on our film.’’

When asked if the Film Federation of India (FFI), which picks the Oscar entry from the movies made in the country, will change its decision about ‘Newton’, the president of FFI, CV Reddy stated, “How can I tell you anything as I have not watched both the films?’’

Another FFI member stated that as per regulations the film has to be released before September 30, 2017. Also, a draft of `50,000 has to be submitted and the film needs to have English subtitles. The member said, “Anyone who meets these criteria can submit their movie. There are no rules about the subject or originality of the film.’’

(Also read: Rajkummar Rao: I’m not really aiming for my films to become blockbusters)

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