'National Icon' Rajkummar Rao To Bring Reel Newton To Real Life

Rajkummar Rao received praise for his role of a morally grounded government clerk in the movie 'Newton'.

Rajkummar Rao was chosen as an EC icon by the poll panel.

Source : IMDb

New Delhi: The Election Commission declared actor Rajkummar Rao a 'national icon'. Ahead of this year's five assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he was named one of their ‘National Icons’. Interestingly, Rao received acclaim for his portrayal of an official tasked with holding elections in Chhattisgarh's Maoist-affected areas in the Hindi film ‘Newton’.

Rajkummar Rao as Newton 

Rajkummar’s notable performance in the film ‘Newton’ a few years ago as a government employee on election duty sets the stage for the ECI's decision. The actor received praise for his role of a morally grounded government clerk, Nutan Kumar, in the movie, who, in spite of a security officer's scepticism and apathy, remains determined to hold a free and fair poll in Chhattisgarh's Maoist region.

The Rajkummar Rao starrer was released to overwhelming critical and commercial acclaim, grossing a total of Rs 15.50 crore at the box office.

‘Newton’ took home the National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. The film was India's entry for the 90th Academy Awards, commonly referred to as the Oscars, in the Best Foreign Language Film category. The movie later faced backlash due to its striking resemblance to the Iranian film ‘Secret Ballot’. However, the film’s producer and director made it clear that ‘Newton’ is not a recreation of his movie.

What are national icons?

The ECI designates prominent individuals as ‘national icons’ in a bid to spur voters to take action and fight disinterest among young people and urban dwellers who would rather stay home and not cast a ballot.

Rajkummar Rao was chosen as an EC icon by the poll panel, which included Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey, and Arun Goel, exchanging a memorandum of understanding with him.

National icons and state icons

Actor Aamir Khan, Padma Shri Dr. Niru Kumar, singer Jasbir Jassi, former Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni, and others are examples of such ‘national icons’.

In addition, the ECI selects 'state icons’, such as Padma Vibhushan Dr. Anil Kakodkar for Maharashtra and actor Pankaj Tripathi for Bihar.