'Newton' wins Best Hindi Film at 65th National Awards

Amit Masurkar's "Newton" won the Best Hindi Film honour and actor Pankaj Tripathi, who was part of it, won a Special Mention for his performance at the 65th National Film Awards at New Delhi on Friday.

Produced by Manish Mundra and starring Rajkummar Rao, the film revolves around a young government clerk, who is sent on election duty to a Maoist-controlled town. It portrays how the ideological struggle puts him in an awkward situation.

The film was shot in the interiors of Chhattisgarh.

Pankaj played Aatma Singh, a cynical Central Reserve Poilce Force officer, in the critically acclaimed film. It was selected as India's official entry in the Best Foreign Language Film category for Oscars 2018, but didn't make it to the final shortlist.

Jury chairperson and filmmaker Shekhar Kapur praised Pankaj's "good" performance.

He said Pankaj's performance was largely ignored by the press. Kapur felt the main character would not have been as strong without the supporting role.