Director Sandhya Suri, in her debut feature film, Santosh, brings to audiences a taut thriller filled with the darkness of the world. Featuring brilliant performances by Shahana Goswami and Sunita Rajwar, Santosh begins its theatrical release on December 27th. The film, which was just included in the Academy Awards Best International Film category shortlist, has also received acclaim at prestigious festivals, including TIFF. Santosh boasts a perfect 100% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and was named by Vogue as one of the best movies of 2024.
Let’s set the tone: Ripped from her life of domesticity, Santosh, a young widow now desperate to support herself, accepts an opportunity to inherit her husband’s job as a police officer in the rural badlands of India. Quickly taken under the wing of Sharma, a charismatic and commanding older female inspector, Santosh begins an investigation into a low-caste girl’s brutal murder. The case plunges her into a gritty world of crime and corruption, forcing her to confront not only the brokenness of the system around her but her place within it.
From the very first moments, you are completely dropped into the world as you see Santosh running through the streets. It is a startling way to begin a film, but it immerses you in the tension that will be a part of the story until the final scenes.
Suri’s mastery of her scenes, the light, and the locations is remarkable. One of the things that impressed me was that you felt almost as if you were standing behind or beside Santosh as she traveled her complex case and character arc. You were not watching the scenes; you felt as if you were in the moments with her. It was a masterstroke.
Suri also uses many of what I call art-framed shots. Now, I am generally critical of those because they take me out of the movie. That is not the case in this film. Every shot enhances the mood, adds to the tension, or adds a different focus that is needed to tell the story. There are many such moments, but there are two that still stay with me. One is the last long shot as it fades to black, giving a sense of a closing of one life to go to another. The second is one of the coolest sequences I have ever seen. The camera’s view is shooting through a train rolling by, and you get glimpses of a couple on the platform across the tracks in the gaps between the cars. It is brilliant in composition, storytelling, and feeling. Brava.
Shahana Goswami gives an outstanding performance as Santosh. Her character’s arc is very challenging in the immense changes she goes through. From the grieving widow, to the innocent cop, to finding her feet as a detective, to the realization of the corrupt world, her fall into that darkness (fierce), and finally, her discovering what she truly wishes and chooses to be is pure brilliance. Her eyes speak soliloquies in many scenes without a word spoken. It truly is one of the finest performances by any actor I have seen in film this year.
Sunita Rajwar brings a deeper level to this character with her portrayal of Sharma. She is the hardened cop who has seen it all and will do anything to bring “justice”. However, there is also this softness and light to her that is still there despite the reality of her world. A yearning for old times, like the old Hindi film songs, is what she wants in life. She also has this look in her eyes throughout the piece, as if she is not what she seems. She plays the character so well that you never really discover if she is the good cop, the bad cop, or both. She is perfect in her portrayal in this part.
The only negative I can give is that, at times, Santosh moves slowly, with too many establishing shots. A bit of editing in the long, dark sections or the looks between characters would have helped the pace. Also, the dialog is minimal, which feels forced. Every line has something to say or mean, but many times it feel forced and does not feel that it is real.
There are some disturbing scenes, so be warned, which were needed but very, very hard to watch. The film is full of tense moments that make you think about what is happening. What is going to happen? How will it end? Or at least it did for me…The end is not what you might expect, but for Santosh, the character, and the film, it works.
The tale of Santosh is sadly a truth in the world, and it hits you hard. It took me a while, in fact, to get out of the shadow of the film. That is a testament to Suri’s deft hand with her pen and especially her lens.
Santosh is an extraordinary film, notably because it is Suri’s debut narrative feature film. It is worth experiencing, especially for the performances, and I highly recommend it.
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