Santosh (2024 film)

Santosh
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySandhya Suri
Written bySandhya Suri
Produced by
  • Mike Goodridge
  • James Bowsher
  • Alan McAlex
  • Balthazar de Ganay
Starring
CinematographyLennert Hillege
Edited byMaxime Pozzi-Garcia
Music byLuisa Gerstein
Production
companies
Distributed byMetrograph Pictures (North America)
Release dates
  • 20 May 2024 (2024-05-20) (Cannes)
  • 10 January 2025 (2025-01-10) (India)
Running time
120 minutes
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • India
  • Germany
  • France
LanguageHindi
Budget$2.5 million[1]
Box office$1.1 million[2]

Santosh is a 2024 Hindi-language 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.[3][1][4]

The film had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of the 77th Cannes Film Festival on 20 May 2024,[5][6] where it received positive reviews from critics. It was theatrically released in India on 10 January 2025.[7] It was named one of the top 5 international films of 2024 by the National Board of Review, [8] and was nominated at the 78th BAFTA Awards for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.[9] It was also selected as the UK's entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards, making the December shortlist.[10]

Plot

The film follows a 28-year-old widow who takes her late husband's job as a police officer and has to investigate the case of a young girl's murder.

Cast

  • Shahana Goswami as Santosh Saini
  • Sunita Rajwar as Geeta Sharma
  • Sanjay Bishnoi as Beniwal
  • Kushal Dubey as Vikram
  • Nawal Shukla as Thakur
  • Pratibha Awasthi as Priya

Production

Principal photography occurred over 45 days in August–October 2023 in and around Lucknow, India.[11]

Release

The film premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival in May 2024. It has also been selected for the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024, where it will compete in the South Asia Competition section.[12] and set to be theatrically released on 10 January 2025 in India.[13]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 31 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.7/10.[14] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 77 out of 100, based on seven critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[15]

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Cannes Film Festival 25 May 2024 Prix Un Certain Regard Sandhya Suri Nominated [16]
BFI London Film Festival 20 October 2024 Sutherland Award for Best First Feature Santosh Nominated [17]
Seville European Film Festival 16 November 2024 Best Screenplay Award Sandhya Suri Won [18]
Camerimage 23 November 2024 Golden Frog – Directors' Debuts Competition Won [19]
TOKYO FILMeX 30 November 2024 Special Jury Award Santosh Won [20][21]
Student Jury Prize Won
National Board of Review 4 December 2024 Top Five International Films Won[a] [22]
European Film Awards 7 December 2024 European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI Santosh Nominated [23]
British Independent Film Awards 8 December 2024 Best British Independent Film Sandhya Suri, Mike Goodridge, James Bowsher, Balthazar de Ganay and Alan McAlex Nominated [24]
Best Screenplay Sandhya Suri Won
Best Debut Screenwriter Nominated
Breakthrough Producer Balthazar De Ganay, James Bowsher Won
Asian Film Awards 16 March 2025 Best Actress Shahana Goswami Pending [25]
Best New Director Sandhya Suri Pending
British Academy Film Awards 16 February 2025 Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer Sandhya Suri, Mike Goodridge, James Bowsher, Balthazar de Ganay and Alan McAlex Pending [26]

Notes

  1. ^ This award does not have a single winner, but recognizes multiple films.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Calnan, Ellie (19 May 2024). "'Santosh' producer on the freedom of filming in India". Screen International. Archived from the original on 11 June 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  2. ^ "Santosh". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  3. ^ Scott, Mathew (16 May 2024). "India, Back in the Palme d'Or Hunt After 30 Years, Hopes Cannes Will Help Producers See the Light". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 11 July 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  4. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (20 May 2024). "Cannes Title 'Santosh' First Clip Unveiled: 'Religious Intolerance, Casteism, Prejudice and Misogyny Are Sitting Heavily in the Atmosphere' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 28 August 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  5. ^ Pavan, Benoit (20 May 2024). "Santosh, Sandhya Suri's vision". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  6. ^ "The Screenings Guide of the 77th Festival de Cannes". Festival de Cannes. 8 May 2024. Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Exclusive: Shahana Goswami has 'gut feeling' Santosh will bag Oscar nomination". India Today. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  8. ^ "2024 Archives". National Board of Review. Archived from the original on 4 December 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  9. ^ "BAFTA Awards 2025: Sandhya Suri's Santosh, Karan Kandhari's Sister Midnight nominated alongside Dev Patel's Monkey Man". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  10. ^ Ritman, Alex (25 September 2024). "'Santosh' to Represent U.K. in Oscars International Feature Race". Variety. Archived from the original on 25 September 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  11. ^ Tabbara, Mona (14 December 2023). "Sandhya Suri's UK-backed 'Santosh' wraps production in India (exclusive)". Screen International. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  12. ^ "MAMI Mumbai Film Festival will open with Payal Kapadia's 'All We Imagine as Light'". Scroll.in. 9 October 2024. Archived from the original on 10 October 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Santosh: Oscars shortlisted film all set to release in India on THIS date". Daily News and Analysis. 20 December 2024. Archived from the original on 21 December 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  14. ^ "Santosh". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  15. ^ "Santosh". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  16. ^ "Cannes 2024 line-up guide: Un Certain Regard titles". Screen International. 9 May 2024. Archived from the original on 11 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  17. ^ Ntim, Zac (29 August 2024). "London Film Festival: Dea Kulumbegashvili's 'April' And Barry Keoghan Pic 'Bring Them Down' To Play In Competition". Deadline. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  18. ^ ""And Their Children After Them" wins the Golden Giraldillo at the Seville European Film Festival". Festival de Sevilla. 16 November 2024. Archived from the original on 22 December 2024. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  19. ^ Brzeski, Patrick (23 November 2024). "Camerimage: Gripping Danish Drama 'The Girl With the Needle' Wins Golden Frog". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 27 December 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  20. ^ "フィルメックス授賞式：朝日新聞デジタル". The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 1 December 2024. Archived from the original on 16 December 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  21. ^ "第25回東京フィルメックス受賞結果". TOKYO FILMeX (in Japanese). 30 November 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  22. ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (4 December 2024). "'Wicked' and Jon M. Chu Win Big with the National Board of Review — See the Full List". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 5 December 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  23. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (5 November 2024). "European Film Awards: 'Emilia Pérez', 'The Room Next Door' Lead Nominations". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  24. ^ "BIFA 2024 Nominations Announced · BIFA · British Independent Film Awards". BIFA · British Independent Film Awards. 5 November 2024. Archived from the original on 31 December 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  25. ^ Lo, Zabrina (10 January 2025). "Asian Film Awards 2025 nominations: Sean Lau gunning for Best Actor, South Korea's 'Exhuma' selected in 9 categories, and more". Tatler Asia. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  26. ^ "BAFTA 2025: All We Imagine As Light Nominated For Best Foreign Film; Indian Films Monkey Man, Santosh, Sister Midnight Lead Nominations". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 15 January 2025.