- Monday, March 31, 2025
The Central Board of Film Certification has raised concerns over the film’s portrayal of the police force
By: India Weekly
INDIA’S censor board has blocked the release of Hindi film “Santosh”, directed by Asian-origin filmmaker Sandhya Suri, which was the UK’s submission for the Oscars.
“Santosh” is Suri’s debut feature film, and it is set in rural northern India, where a newly-widowed woman inherits her late husband’s job as a police constable.
Suri had earlier made critically acclaimed documentaries like “I for India” (2005) and “Around India with a Movie Camera” (2018).
The Central Board of Film Certification has raised concerns over the film’s portrayal of the police force, The Guardian reports.
Shahana Goswami plays the lead role of the police constable and she investigates the rape and murder of a Dalit girl.
Suri’s film brings out the deep-rooted misogyny, caste bias, and the normalisation of the use of high-handed methods by the police force.
The film also grapples with the issue of sexual violence in India, particularly against lower caste women, and the rising tide of anti-Muslim prejudice in the country.
Suri told The Guardian that the censor board’s decision surprised her as these issues have been raised in other films before in India.
She claimed the demands of the censors were “impossible” to implement and felt the film would make little sense after all those cuts.
Santosh made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival to widespread acclaim and was nominated for a Bafta for best debut feature this year.
Shahana Goswami recently won best actress at the Asian Film Awards.
The film also stars Sunita Rajwar, Kushal Dubey and Sanjay Bishnoi.
Behind the camera, the score was by Luisa Gerstein, cinematography by Lennert Hillege and editing by Maxime Pozzi-Garcia.
