Cannes, Oscars shortlist, BAFTA — Shahana Goswami’s Santosh has made its presence felt on several prestigious film platforms. Ironically, the one place the Indian co-production hasn’t reached is Indian theatres, courtesy the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). As we get on a call with Goswami, she is disillusioned by the cuts demanded by the CBFC. “It is the systemic reality right now. Is it right? I don’t think so. The CBFC is meant to be a board of certification, not of censorship,” she states.

Director Sandhya Suri’s Santosh tells the story of Goswami’s protagonist, a widow who steps into her late husband’s role of a police constable and becomes entangled in the investigation of a Dalit teenager’s rape and murder. After premièring at the 77th Cannes Film Festival in May 2024, it became Britain’s official entry for the 2025 Oscars and made it to the shortlist for the Best International Feature Film. 

Director Sandhya Suri (C) with the lead actors at Cannes 2024 where Santosh premièred