After winning hearts at international film festivals, Sandhya Suri’s Santosh has once again hit a roadblock in India. Fans eagerly waiting for the film’s digital premiere were left disappointed when its OTT release was abruptly paused at the last minute. The 2024 cop drama, starring Shahana Goswami, has faced a long struggle with censorship and distribution, leaving the filmmaker disheartened and audiences frustrated.
Santosh, which tells the story of a widow who inherits her late husband’s police constable role and investigates the murder and rape of a teenager, was set to stream in India on Friday, October 17. Despite receiving global acclaim and screening at the Cannes Film Festival, the film never reached Indian theatres due to objections from the Central Board of Film Certification ( CBFC). The board requested multiple cuts that Suri and her team refused, citing that they would compromise the integrity of the film, she revealed to Deadline in an interview.
Suri explained that the same objections applied to digital streaming, noting that while streamers do not legally require censorship clearance, they often self-impose restrictions to avoid controversy. She also voiced concern that the delay might push audiences toward piracy, emphasizing her wish for the film to be distributed uncut and legally in India.
About Santosh movie
An international co-production between the United Kingdom, India, Germany, and France, Santosh was initially envisioned as a documentary on sexual abuse in India but evolved into a fiction narrative after Suri was inspired by imagery from the 2012 Delhi gang rape protests. Filming took place in Lucknow from August to October 2023. The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2024, earning positive critical reviews. It was named among the top five international films of 2024 by the National Board of Review, earned a nomination at the 78th British Academy Film Awards for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer, and was selected as the UK’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.
Santosh, which tells the story of a widow who inherits her late husband’s police constable role and investigates the murder and rape of a teenager, was set to stream in India on Friday, October 17. Despite receiving global acclaim and screening at the Cannes Film Festival, the film never reached Indian theatres due to objections from the Central Board of Film Certification ( CBFC). The board requested multiple cuts that Suri and her team refused, citing that they would compromise the integrity of the film, she revealed to Deadline in an interview.
Suri explained that the same objections applied to digital streaming, noting that while streamers do not legally require censorship clearance, they often self-impose restrictions to avoid controversy. She also voiced concern that the delay might push audiences toward piracy, emphasizing her wish for the film to be distributed uncut and legally in India.
About Santosh movie
An international co-production between the United Kingdom, India, Germany, and France, Santosh was initially envisioned as a documentary on sexual abuse in India but evolved into a fiction narrative after Suri was inspired by imagery from the 2012 Delhi gang rape protests. Filming took place in Lucknow from August to October 2023. The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2024, earning positive critical reviews. It was named among the top five international films of 2024 by the National Board of Review, earned a nomination at the 78th British Academy Film Awards for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer, and was selected as the UK’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.
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