Movies and shows, old and new, have helped us to live vicariously through them. They have allowed us to travel far and wide at a time borders are shut and people are restricted to homes. In our new column What’s In A Setting, we explore the inseparable association of a story with its setting, how the location complements the narrative, and how these cultural windows to the world have helped broaden our imagination. * During his India sojourn on the 2010 show Gordon’s Great Escape, British chef and TV star Gordon Ramsay visits a family of the Dhurwas (or Duruwas), a Gondi-speaking tribe living in the forests of central India. In their sparse home, he tries out a delicious, acidic, spicy chutney that knocks his socks off. “I won’t have mango chutney again,” he proclaims, before following his host deep into the forest, in a quest for the secret ingredient that makes the chutney. He discovers, of course, that the mystery element is a species of red ant, along with its eggs. He is fascinated with the exoticism of it — what you would expect from a privileged ‘foreigner’; but he’s also enthused, like a child, at discovering a fresh new ingredient that goes into food. He tries it out raw (while those same ants are feasting on his body, ironically), exclaiming that it is sour. This gentle peek into the glories of tribal culture also plays out uncannily in Amit V Masurkar’s 2017 film Newton, where the eponymous protagonist (Rajkummar Rao) tries out the raw ants offered to him by his tribal colleague Malko (Anjali Patil). Newton is earnest to a fault, but in this particular moment, the clearness of his heart shines through. A familiar snack for Malko, she pops a few red ants herself, then asks him to try it. Surprised as he is with the idea, he does so without a hint of doubt. “Khatta hai,” he says. The red ants are sour. In the lush green countryside that Malko calls home, red is a significant colour. The Naxal insurgency has a foothold in the region; fighting and bloodshed between the State and the insurgents is never a surprise, just a tragic perpetual possibility. In a later scene, Assistant Commandant Atma Singh (Pankaj Tripathi) calls out ‘Laal Salaad’ (red salad) as he raises a toast with a slice of beetroot that he picks off a plate of chopped fresh veggies. The reference to the ‘red salute’ of the Maoists is yet another reminder of the dangers lurking in the place where the film is set.
The lawlessness of the region is evident throughout Newton, even though ‘lawless’ doesn’t necessarily mean violent. It also means that the people of the region don’t see the State as a protector. In many ways, they don’t even understand the concept of ’the state.’ They are a people left to fend for themselves.
Obviously then, Newton himself is driven to a point where he’s forced to pick up a gun in the film, aiming it at Atma Singh, an enforcer of the State’s excesses no less. Incidentally, during the incidents of the Ramayana, this region fell under the kingdom of Lanka. So Ram himself chose to pick up arms against the State right here, but that’s the sort of analogy that’s lost on people today. In the context of the film, the Maoist is the bogeyman. You don’t actually see any Naxals in the film. The only red that stays with you by the end of it is what Malko is wearing. She stands out against the green at all times, and this isn’t just about understanding primary and contrasting colours. Malko believes in the rule of law, she is no supporter of violence as a solution, but she empathises with those who see no other option. They’re all born of the same soil. Needless to say, Atma Singh, who is tasked with providing security to Newton and his election team at the booth, doesn’t quite trust her because she’s a local.