Santosh
Original title: संतोष
Santosh is a 2024 Hindi-language police procedural crime drama film written and directed by Sandhya Suri. It is an international co-production of the United Kingdom, India, Germany, and France. Set in rural north India, it stars Shahana Goswami as a widow who inherits her late husband's job of police constable and is involved in the investigation of the murder and rape of a Dalit teenager. The film was intended to be a documentary on sexual abuse in India, but the director decided to create a fi...
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Where to watch
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Credits and facts
Movie details
- Original title
- संतोष
- Release date
- 20 May 2024
- Runtime
- 128 minutes
- Country
- India
- Languages
- Hindi
- Genres
- Drama, Thriller, Crime
- Director
- Sandhya Suri
- Writers
- Sandhya Suri
- Cast
- Shahana Goswami, Sunita Rajwar, Pratibha Awasthy, Sanjay Bishnoi
- Production company
- BFI, BBC Film, mk2 Films
Spoiler-free synopsis
Santosh is a 2024 Hindi-language police procedural crime drama film written and directed by Sandhya Suri. It is an international co-production of the United Kingdom, India, Germany, and France. Set in rural north India, it stars Shahana Goswami as a widow who inherits her late husband's job of police constable and is involved in the investigation of the murder and rape of a Dalit teenager. The film was intended to be a documentary on sexual abuse in India, but the director decided to create a fiction film after seeing an image of female demonstrators and a female constable in a protest on the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder. Filming lasted from August to October 2023 in Lucknow, India. The film had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of the 77th Cannes Film Festival on 20 May 2024. It was planned for a release in India in January 2025, but was indefinitely delayed as requests for film cuts were not done. Santosh received positive reception for its cinematography and approach in discussing its themes on corruption and was selected as the UK's entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards and made it in the December shortlist.
For families
Editorial guidance
Context for discussing the story and deciding whether it fits your household.
Positive messages
Constructive themes or examples.Potential constructive discussion around Santosh can focus on responsibility, empathy, perseverance and the consequences of decisions. Where the Drama, Thriller, Crime material creates conflict, parents can discuss safer alternatives, respectful communication and how characters respond to pressure. These are editorial discussion prompts and are not presented as claims that every theme appears explicitly in the film.
Negative behaviours
Conduct that may need context.Parents should be alert to behaviour commonly associated with Drama, Thriller, Crime, including conflict, deception, fear, risky choices or emotionally intense exchanges where applicable. Because detailed scene-level evidence is not equally available for every 2024 title, this section avoids inventing specific acts that were not verified. Use an official CBFC classification when present and consider previewing the film for especially sensitive children.
Topics to discuss
Conversation starters after viewing.Useful family discussion questions include: What motivates the main characters? Which decisions create avoidable problems? How could conflicts be handled more responsibly? Do the film's relationships model respect and consent? How does the story portray courage, loyalty, justice or forgiveness? For older children, compare dramatic entertainment choices with real-world consequences.
Final recommendation
Our family-viewing take
Suggested minimum age: 15+. The overall family verdict is use caution. Children below that age may need stronger parental guidance, especially if Drama, Thriller, Crime includes tension, violence, fear, crime, romance or mature emotional themes. Teen suitability improves with context and discussion. Shared family viewing is recommended when parents want to address the strongest concerns.
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