Documentary-maker Sandhya Suri’s remarkable feature debut pitches a new female cop into a complex rural murder caseThis is a phenomenal achievement: the feature film debut from British-Indian former documentary maker Sandhya Suri is a punchy, muscular Hindi-language police procedural set in rural north India. Elegantly scripted by Suri, Santosh combines gripping, gritty storytelling with a deft acknowledgment of some of the murkier aspects of modern India: the police corruption and brutality, the baked-in sexism, the caste prejudice and anti-Muslim sentiment. It strikes a tricky balance between perceptive, issue-led film-making and propulsive entertainment.The movie was this year’s UK submission to the international Oscar category, but due to problems with the censors is yet to be released in India. It follows the journey of the eponymous central character. Recently widowed Santosh (a magnetic, watchful turn by Shahana Goswami) is, thanks to a government scheme, offered her late hu...
Sandhya Suri's debut film, Santosh, is a gripping Hindi-language police procedural set in rural north India, exploring police corruption, sexism, caste prejudice, and anti-Muslim sentiment. The film follows Santosh, a widowed woman who becomes a police officer and investigates a complex murder case with a veteran cop whose methods are questionable.
