‘Santosh’ Continues Facing Indian Censorship Hurdles
India-set film film “Santosh” is still in censorship limbo as it awaits release in the country, producer Mike Goodridge revealed to Variety.
The film, which has earned significant international acclaim including best actress for Shahana Goswani and best new director for Sandhya Suri at the Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong, faces an uncertain future in India. “We’re sort of stuck in censorship. To be honest, the Indian censor has requested certain changes that I don’t think the filmmaker is comfortable with, nor us, to be honest,” Goodridge said.
The Jan. 10 India release of “Santosh” was suspended after the film failed to receive certification clearance from the Central Board of Film Certification, despite having previously secured script approval to shoot in India and Indian government production incentives.
While PVR still holds the rights for India distribution, the film continues to play at festivals in its uncut version as the team contemplates their next steps.
“Santosh” follows a widow who inherits her deceased husband’s position as a police constable in rural north India and becomes involved in investigating the murder of an underage girl from a marginalized caste community. The film was the U.K.’s entry for the Oscars’ international feature category and was shortlisted.
Goswami spoke about what drew her to the role: “It’s the kind of film that I would love to watch because it’s not didactic, that’s not preachy … You’re just following a character through her ups and downs, her transgressions, her mistakes, her victories, but without judgment and without moralizing everything.”
Goodridge praised the film’s nuanced approach to complex themes: “I thought it was going to be a lot more didactic, a lot more sort of tokenistic. But Sandhya isn’t interested in those kind of stories. She wants to tell it like it is and say that it’s not just men against women or caste against caste.”
Both Goswami and Goodridge believe the film resonates globally because it explores universal aspects of the human condition. “That commonality of the human condition and society as it gets formed, is what’s universal,” Goswami said. “Everybody connects to that … people still don’t see it as, ‘Oh, this is an Indian film.’”
The film’s U.K. release is scheduled for March 21. The team mentioned that Suri is currently writing new material while managing various screenings, interviews and Q&As for “Santosh.”
Goodridge also provided updates on other high-profile projects from his production company Good Chaos. Edward Berger’s Netflix film “The Ballad of a Small Player,” based on the acclaimed novel, is currently in post-production. Goodridge said, “Ed Berger, who’s the director, was very busy with the ‘Conclave’ release, but he’s fully focused on ‘Ballad’ now, so we’re hoping that will be on Netflix later this year.”
Goodridge expressed hope for festival appearances for the film. Good Chaos is also serving as U.K. co-producer on Ruben Östlund’s anticipated project “The Entertainment System Is Down,” which is currently in production. “Ruben Östlund, just another slice of genius,” Goodridge remarked about the two-time Palme d’Or-winning director.
Additionally, Goodridge is upbeat about László Nemes’ “Orphan,” noting that it “has turned out fantastically” and will be submitted to festivals in the near future.
