No Hint of Plagiarisation: ‘Secret Ballot’ Producer on ‘Newton’

Marco Mueller, producer of the 2001 Iranian film ‘Secret Ballot’, gives his verdict.

Rajkummar Rao in and as Newton.

(Photo Courtesy: Instagram/@rajkummar_rao)

Producer Marco Mueller feels that there was not even a hint of plagiarisation in Rajkummar Rao's Newton, amidst claims that the movie has been inspired from his 2001 Iranian film Secret Ballot.

Last week, Newton was announced as India's official entry for Oscars' foreign language film category.

On Monday night, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, in a Facebook post, shared Muller's opinion after watching Newton.

“A pretty decent film, definitely no rip off from our <i>Secret Ballot</i> (even if the general concept is the same)”, and then I asked him if I can share his response on social media? He replied,”Please feel free as you see fit, there is not even a hint of plagiarisation.

Anurag Kashyap, via Facebook

He also shared the screenshot of his conversation with Mueller.

On Sunday, defending the film, Kashyap tweeted:

Also read: I Cast My Vote; Newton and Secret Ballot are Two Different Films

The movie, produced by Manish Mundra of Drishyam Films, had its world premiere at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival, where it even won an award.

While Newton, which stars National Award-winning actor Rajkummar Rao, revolves around a government employee who struggles to supervise voting in a forest area of Chhattisgarh, controlled by Maoists.

Secret Ballot is described as a movie which focuses on the life of a lady ballot officer who visits a barren and desolate place to plead with voters to cast their votes and take part in the elections.

The story was born from my heart. I had no idea about <i>Secret Ballot</i>.

Amit V Masurkar, director, Newton

Also read: ‘Newton’ Shows the Farce That Democracy Is in Bastar

Meanwhile, meeting the film team's expectations, Newton is attracting the audience to theatres.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted: