Newton's 3rd Law, produced by Harish Kohirkar, was released in theatres today.
Plot:
In 2026, a gangster-like figure named David (Avasarala Srinivas) receives a book titled Newton's Third Law via courier. Reading it, he realizes the story portrays real-life events he is connected to. Cut to 1999, the plot follows police officer Vasudev (Sumanth) investigating the death of Vinay (Trinadh Varma), an unemployed youngster, who initially appears to have jumped off a building. After an autopsy reveals a bullet in Vinay's head, Vasudev reclassifies it as murder. He uncovers that Vinay's parents, Gangadhar and Parvathi, are hiding a past secret and that Vinay made a grave crime before dying. Soon after, Vinay's friend Karthik (Gautham Pandit) disappears, and Vasudev begins linking the case to a fatal accident involving Jyothi (Neha Pathan) and her daughter.
How are these incidents tied together? Who wrote the book, who is David, and why does reading it terrify him? What is Stephen Mercury's (Jagapathi Babu) role, and how does Newton's Third Law drive the outcome?
Post-Mortem:
Writer-director Rajesh Karna reframes Newton's Third Law of Motion as a Karmic principle. "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction" can be easily misunderstood as validating the philosophy of Karma, a metaphysical concept with zero evidence but plenty of real-life relevance to those who believe it to be true. The downside of such a simplistic reframing is that it can lead to the justification of any random incident in real life and plot turn in a fictional story. The entire plot of the film under review is repurposed toward arriving at the predetermined theory that every action has an unequal and wholly convenient reaction in human life. Help from Lord Shiva is duly taken, because why not?
First, the positives. The film is not without a soul. Vinay's grieving mother, who has been overworking as a nurse to run the family (her husband, played by Ravi Varma, has been an alcoholic ever since his jewellery shop was burgled), has those middle-class aspirations (read a no-frills evening, a relaxed supper at the dining table). Vinay, a wayward and greedy youngster who now has no sense of right and wrong, is humanized through a beautifully written scene with his mom. Actress Shelly N Kumar is impeccable in the role of the mother. The film's biggest strength is that it spends a good chunk of the first half in grounding this semi-dysfunctional family that is barely holding on. The nocturnal tragedy that sets off the prime investigation doesn't feel distant because of this emotional foundation. A character's forgetful memory, the deployment of antique pieces, the structuring of the plot (read prologue and epilogue), and the film's title turning out to be the title of a two-part book... These are all ingredients that pique the audience's curiosity.
The cinematography by Veda Vyas Gottipati is fairly new-age. Sinjith Yerramilli's music lends a classical touch (particularly through a song rendered by KS Chitra). Shivakumar Macha's production design is thoughtful.
The negatives, however, are aplenty. Right from the word go, Sumanth's character behaves as though he is questioning a suspect and not a bereaved parent. He makes everything come across as a flex: even the questioning of Vinay's neighbors, something he could have outsourced to his constables (who by the way try hard to be submissive to their supposedly maverick boss). People speak nervously in his presence; it's as though the writer doesn't know the concept of micro expressions.
The background score is overdone in some scenes. The sharp edits in the second half stylize a few scenes involving Vinay and Karthik, but the BGM almost glamourizes their outright immoral actions.
Then, the coincidences: a road accident is a case in point. The film introduces Jagapathi Babu's character quite late and that's legit. But the intro scene turns out to be a storm in a tea cup. The lack of fear on the faces of two key characters during the scene makes it feel like it's all much ado about nothing.
The second half is belaboured. Had the writing been strong here, the rationalizations would have landed well. Srinivasa Avasarala's character is weakly written.
Closing Remarks:
Despite an emotionally grounded first half, strong performances, and an intriguing mystery structure, Newton's 3rd Law loses momentum by forcing every narrative thread into a simplistic karma-driven payoff. Strong technical work and engaging family drama are undermined by contrived coincidences, inconsistent characterization, and an overbearing philosophical agenda that weakens the thriller's impact.
