Santosh director Sandhya Suri calls CBFC blocking acclaimed film's India release ‘disappointing and heartbreaking’

Hindi film Santosh, the UK's official entry to the Oscars, is not releasing in India as CBFC is refusing to certify it due to its depiction of police violence.

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has blocked the release of critically-acclaimed Hindi film Santosh over the concerns about portrayal of misogyny, Islamophobia and violence by the police. The film, UK's official entry to the Oscars, is jointly produced by British and French production houses, but is set and shot in India. Santosh has won critical acclaim worldwide. (Also release: No India release for UK Oscar entry Santosh?)

Shahana Goswami in a still from Santosh.

‘It was surprising for all of us’

In an interview with The Guardian, director Sandhya Suri called CBFC's decision '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 said.

‘Censor demanded lengthy and widespread cuts’

Sandhya mentioned that the board had demanded a long list of lengthy and widespread cuts which were impossible to implement. “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,” she said.

About Santosh

Directed and written by British-Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri, Santosh was UK's official submission to the Best International Feature film category for the Oscars this year. Set in north India, the film showcases a young widow who joins the police force and investigates the murder of a young Dalit girl. Starring Shahana Goswami, the film premiered in Un Certain Regard section of 77th Cannes Film Festival last year and earned rave reviews for its performances. But it seems like Indian audiences would not be able to watch the film on home turf, at least for now.