The summer of 2026 was unusually quiet for Telugu cinema, a lull broken not by a thunderous action epic, but by a whisper of a mystery that promised to scratch an itch many of us have had since the late ’90s. That whisper grew into a low, persistent hum, and by the time July 31st rolled around, the question on everyone’s lips wasn’t if you should see “Newton’s 3rd Law,” but what the hell it was actually about. Director Rajesh Karna, who has never shied away from narrative puzzles, has delivered a film that is as much a test of patience as it is a study in performance. It’s a 138-minute ride that, depending on your disposition, is either a slow-burn masterclass or a frustrating enigma.
The premise is deceptively simple. We are dropped into the sweltering, pre-millennium chaos of 1999, where a double murder rips through a seemingly unremarkable community. The investigation that follows is not led by a grizzled, world-weary cop, but rather draws in a constellation of characters who, by all logical measure, have no business being near a crime scene. This is where the film’s central promise lies: the unexpected. And to its credit, the casting is the film’s strongest hand. Sumanth, in a role that feels like a deliberate pivot from his recent romantic outings, carries the burden of a man who finds himself ethically and physically entangled in the case. His performance is restrained, almost to a fault, but it gives the film a grounded anchor as the world around him spirals into paranoia.
Opposite him, the legendary Jagapati Babu is a force of quiet menace. He doesn’t need to raise his voice; a single glance from him in this film carries the weight of a decade of secrets. Then there’s Srinivas Avasarala, who is the film’s secret weapon. Known for his comedic timing, Avasarala subverts his own image entirely here. He plays a character whose nervous energy and intellectual tics become crucial to unlocking the plot’s puzzle box. Watching him trade barbs with Ravi Varma and Trinadh Varma - who play two sides of the same duplicitous coin - is where “Newton’s 3rd Law” crackles with life. Neha Pathan, as the lone female lead amid this storm of testosterone, is given a role that is unfortunately more reactive than proactive, though she handles the material with a quiet dignity that hints at a deeper backstory we never quite get to see.
Director Karna has constructed a world that feels authentically grimy, far removed from the glossy, airbrushed aesthetics of modern Tollywood. The production design - the rotary phones, the boxy cars, the CRT televisions - is meticulous. You can almost smell the stale cigarette smoke and the humid evening air. This sensory immersion is the film’s greatest triumph. However, “Newton’s 3rd Law” suffers from a paradox: it is intellectually ambitious but emotionally aloof. The screenplay, which hinges on the titular principle of action and reaction, sets up a domino effect of consequences that should feel devastating. Instead, the narrative often gets bogged down in its own opaque dialogue. Characters speak in riddles, not because they are clever, but because the script seems terrified of revealing its hand too early.
There is a moment in the second act where the investigation pivots on a single, tiny piece of forensic evidence. The discovery should have elicited a gasp from the audience. Instead, in the screening I attended, there was a palpable sense of confusion. Several patrons were shuffling in their seats, clearly having missed a vital connective tissue in the story. This is the film’s fatal flaw: it assumes its audience is playing chess while many of us are just trying to understand the rules of the board. The mystery is dense, yes, but it is often needlessly convoluted. The payoff, when it does arrive in the final twenty minutes, is a revelation that recontextualizes everything that came before - but for some, it might feel less like a “eureka” moment and more like a professor explaining a lecture you skipped.
The film’s ambition is commendable. It aims for a cerebral, slow-burn thriller in the vein of classic noir, and it refuses to pander to the masses with item numbers or forced comedy. Yet, this very refusal to compromise is also its undoing. The pacing is glacial in the middle stretch, and the emotional stakes remain frustratingly low because we are kept at arm’s length from the victim’s loved ones. We are told they are seeking justice, but we rarely feel their desperation.
After the credits rolled, a fellow critic turned to me and shrugged. “It’s smart,” he said. “But is it watchable?” That is the million-rupee question. There is a brilliance buried deep within “Newton’s 3rd Law” - a dark, intricate story about how the sins of the past are always, inevitably, met with an equal and opposite reaction. The performances, particularly from Jagapati Babu and Avasarala, are worth the price of admission alone. But it demands a level of undivided attention that may feel more like homework than entertainment. It is a film that respects your intelligence, but it forgets to respect your time. If you are a fan of puzzle-box mysteries and don’t mind leaving the theatre feeling like you need a second viewing to fully digest the experience, this is for you. If you’re looking for a breezy weekend escape, wait for the streaming release, where you can at least pause and rewind to catch the clues you missed. It is, without a doubt, the most talked-about mystery of the year - just be prepared to argue about what actually happened.
