In Amit Masurkar’s film, Newton, Malko — played by actor Anjali Patil — takes a dig at a righteous government official on election duty for his lack of knowledge about the food habits of a neighbouring region. Her uninhibited sarcasm, while involuntarily biting into a handful of red ants, drew this writer’s attention to a people’s struggle for conserving their ethos. The character of Newton, who finds the possibility of snacking on red ants from a mound ‘interesting’, essays city-bred sentiments of distanced acceptability — something the presentation for a GI label for kai chutney intends to fight. 

The red weaver ant dish that is being presented for a GI tag