The makers of Santosh, a 2024 Hindi film directed by British-Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri, which was the UK’s international feature film submission to the Oscars 2025, have decided against its theatrical release in India citing extensive cuts and amends purportedly sought by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), according to media reports and people part of the crew.
Set in rural north India, Santosh is a crime drama covering the murder of a young girl. The film is also written by Suri and stars acclaimed actors Shahana Goswami and Sunita Rajwar, with Goswami portraying a widow who inherits the job of her late husband as a police constable and Rajwar playing a hardliner senior inspector in the police force. To be sure, CBFC has not banned the film from releasing in India.
“They [the board] gave a long list of cuts at the end of January or early February that they wanted us to implement, and other than the cuts. Suri tried to see if these could be implemented but ultimately, there was no room for negotiation as the list was final,” a key crew member told HT, asking not to be named.
CBFC chairperson Prasoon Joshi did not respond to requests for a comment.
The film deals with themes of caste discrimination, sexual violence, Islamophobia and police brutality— themes its makers said caused concerns within the board, ultimately leading to demands for the amends and cuts “without any reason”.
The amends included changing the names of some characters in order to ostensibly prevent certain castes being represented in the way they were, the person cited above said, and added that agreeing to them would have “changed the essence of the film, which was not possible”.
“They have not banned the film but just asked for the impossible. What made it especially hard is that the board officials did not give any reason for each of the cuts and there was no discussion to reason with them. So as it stands, the crew see no chance of a theatre screening and don’t see OTT platforms picking it up because of the board’s stance. The only option is to go to court, which Suri might be reluctant to do,” the person added.
The film had its world premiere in the Prix Un Certain Regard category at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on May 20. It was nominated for the Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, director or producer category at the 78th British Academy Film Awards (Bafta).
Goswami and Suri won best actress and best new director, respectively, at the Asian Film Awards in held March.
According to The Guardian, Suri described the decision as “disappointing and heartbreaking”. “It was surprising for all of us because I didn’t feel that these issues were particularly new to Indian cinema or hadn’t been raised before by other films,” she told the news agency.
“It was very important to me that the film is released in India so I did try to figure out if there was a way to make it work. But in the end, it was just too difficult to make those cuts and have a film that still made sense, let alone stayed true to its vision. I don’t feel my film glorifies violence in a way that many other films focusing on the police have done. There’s nothing sensationalist about it,” The Guardian quoted Suri as saying.
Experts questioned the move and said that asking for cuts and revisions in a multiple award winner such as “Santosh” is “a sad story”, adding that viewership cannot be curtailed entirely these days due to technical advancements, unlike in the past.
“Why can’t a non-judgemental, nuanced film such as ‘Santosh’ be viewed tolerantly as a humanitarian cinematographic work? A multiple award winner shot in India with official permissions, if met with such mutilation by cuts and revisions, is indeed a sad story,” said Amrit Gangar, film theorist, author, curator and historian.
Gangar added that the move ultimately may not entirely prevent it from being watched but the lack of certification robs it of revenue. “Unlike in the past, public viewing cannot be stopped. Why can’t it be released and earn some revenue? It will only help humanitarian reformation in the process,” Gangar added.
