MUMBAI: There are silences that weigh heavier than words, silences that can bury a truth as completely as a shallow grave. Into that silence steps Santosh, a film that refuses to look away. After earning international acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival 2024 (Un Certain Regard), the film will now reach audiences for the very first time, and in doing so, marks a homecoming for a story that has resonated globally but was always rooted here, is set to stream this October 17 on Lionsgate Play. Directed by Sandhya Suri and produced by Good Chaos, Cinefrance Studios, and MetFilm Production, Santosh stars Shahana Goswami in a blistering lead role, alongside Sunita Rajwar (Panchayat) as Inspector Geeta Sharma. What begins as the story of a widow stepping into her late husband’s police uniform soon unravels into a searing investigation that exposes not only a brutal crime but the fault lines of caste, gender, and power in rural India.
The film follows Santosh, a young widow who inherits her late husband’s police position through compassionate appointment. What begins as a symbolic placement quickly turns into a reckoning when she is assigned to the investigation of a Dalit teenager’s rape and murder. Partnered with Inspector Sharma, Santosh is forced to navigate a landscape where evidence is buried under prejudice, power shields perpetrators, and the law bends in the direction of those who write it. With its layered writing and lived-in performances, the film turns every silence, every hesitation, into a question about whose voices matter, and whose are erased.
Talking about Santosh, Shahana Goswami said, “Santosh is a film that is very close to my heart. A beautifully written story, depicted truthfully, holding up a mirror to us of the world we live in, that we have all helped create. Sandhya Suri, the writer and director, has crafted something so meaningful and touching. The film has been shown all over the world, starting its journey at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024, and has been greatly appreciated by critics and the public alike. All the actors in Santosh are brilliant, but I will especially speak of Sunita Rajwar, who has done an excellent job playing a very complex character. It was a joy working with her and watching her become Geeta Sharma. You will see her in a completely new avatar. I cannot wait for everyone in India to finally be able to watch the film.”
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