‘Santosh’ Ventures Along Well-Trod Ground, but Director Sandhya Suri Makes the Journey Well Worth It 

Some have pegged Suri’s film as a ‘fiercely feminist empowerment saga,’ and they aren’t wrong. Yet the description sells short the range of complexities touched upon in this debut feature.

© Taha Ahmad; via Metrograph Pictures
Shahana Goswami in 'Santosh.' © Taha Ahmad; via Metrograph Pictures

The debut feature written and directed by Sandhya Suri, “Santosh,” is a workaday venture that nags at the memory like a burr in one’s sock. If that doesn’t sound like a commendation, consider the deluge of entertainment to which we subject ourselves on a regular basis and how little of it makes a dent. Ms. Suri seems to be bringing us more of the same with this police procedural: Don’t we have enough of the damned things? Given the quality of Ms. Suri’s film, I would say not.

“Santosh” ventures along well-trod ground. Among the themes dealt with are class division and, with it, social condescension. The radical changes that can result from the death of a loved one is another motif, as is the careerism of governmental agents and its potential abuses. Appearance is emphasized: Clothes make the man, sure, but they can also unmake the woman, in this case Santosh Saini. More on those clothes shortly.

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