Pankaj Tripathi On The Impact Of Newton As The Film Is Screened For Polling Officers In Bihar

Pankaj Tripathi has been paying close attention to the elections in his home state Bihar. The actor recently heard that a local zonal officer in Chapra and a few other election duty officers and polling agents, were inspired by his 2017 film Newton ahead of the election.

Pankaj played the role of Aatma Singh in Newton, a black comedy drama about the ground realities during elections in a Northern state. Pankaj starred alongside Rajkummar Rao in the National Award-winning film, and was praised for his performance by critics and audiences.

Talking about Newton being screened for polling officers in Bihar ahead of the state elections, he told Hindustan Times, "You never find out about your own reach unless you hear such stories. This officer was training 2500 election forces and he made those training under him watch Newton. The film had a great impact because there are many people who try to escape doing election duty. They feel pressured."

He continued, "The field officers kept a special screening for polling officers. Once the film was over, everyone was ready to go on duty. I had no idea that a film we made three years ago continues to have such positive, far reaching impact. It is a matter of honour and privilege that I am associated with work which inspires people to contribute to the betterment of the society."

Newton was directed by Amit V Masurkar. Tripathi won a special mention for his performance in the film at the 65th National Film Awards.

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