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Santosh: Shahana Goswami and Sandhya Suri BREAK SILENCE after their UK’s official Oscar entry is blocked by CBFC for release in India
Shahana Goswami and Sandhya Suri’s Santosh has been blocked by the Central Board of Film Certification for its release in India. Both the ladies associated with the film have addressed the setback.
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has blocked the release of Shahana Goswami’s acclaimed film Santosh, directed by Sandhya Suri. The UK's official entry to the Oscars, the film had also reached the shortlist stage. However, it has been asked to undergo several modifications before its release.
According to India Today, the CBFC has demanded numerous cuts to Santosh, particularly criticizing the depiction of police behavior and sensitive social issues such as caste discrimination and police brutality, which are the core themes of the film.
Shahana Goswami addressed the setback while speaking with the publication and mentioned that the team does not agree with the suggested changes, as they would alter the film too much. The actress emphasized the "deadlock" situation, where the film might not be released theatrically in India.
"It's just sad that something that has gone through censor approval at the script level should require so many cuts and changes for it to be considered okay to release in India," she said.
In addition, the writer and director of Santosh, Sandhya Suri, also spoke to The Guardian and described the censors' decision as “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. The filmmaker stated that the suggested changes by the CBFC would be “impossible” to implement.
Suri didn’t delve much deeper into the suggested changes due to legal restrictions, but she revealed that the list of cuts was several pages long and included concerns about themes relating to police conduct and broader societal issues, which are deeply rooted in the film.
“It was very important to me that the film be 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 still have a film that made sense, let alone stayed true to its vision,” she said.
On a concluding note, Suri defended her film, claiming that it does not glorify “violence in a way that many other films focusing on the police have done,” and stated that there is nothing "sensational" about it.
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