‘Newton’ was not just a film for the residents of this village in Bastar, Madhya Pradesh. Two residents who had speaking parts of the film, say the area is just as underdeveloped today as shown in the film, made more than seven years ago.
Newton — a satire on how democracy functions in Maoist-hit areas — was India’s official entry in the Best Foreign Language category at the 2017 Oscars. The shooting took place at Dalli Rajhara in Durg but it put Kongra, a small village in Bastar’s Kondagaon, on the developmental map.
Juno Netam and Sukhdhar – two of the local actors who took part in the film — told NDTV that the village got tap water connection a year ago. A school and a hospital were built around five years ago.
The slow pace is reminiscent of a dialogue in the movie – “A forest does not grow in a single day”. But for Kongra, it has taken 70 years after Independence to get the basic amenities.
Not all the boxes are ticked, though, even now. The village is yet to get a metalled road. The approach road is a dirt track that begins from a left turn on the road from Kondagaon to Narayanpur.
At Mr Netam’s house, his daughter-in-law Sukhwati Netam was seen cooking lunch on a wood stove. The family said she has not received the benefit of Ujjwala Yojana. Even the Rs. 1000 grant of the Mahtari Vandan Yojana has not reached the family. Under the Mahtari Vandan Yojana scheme, the Chhattisgarh government provides Rs 1000 per month to those female applicants who come from married, widowed and economically weaker categories.
Sukhdhar’s role in the film was a single line. The man, playing a Maoist, had to say, “If you vote, we will cut off your hands”. But while the location is bang in the middle of Abujhmaar, among the biggest Maoist hubs, locals say they are yet to see a Maoist. Sudhakar has/has not seen a maoist. Neither has Mankar Netam.
The film was shot for 14 days, for which the men were paid Rs 1,400. Asked if the shooting took place in the village, Juno and Sukhdhar said they had gone to Delhi for it.
