# Santosh (2024 film)

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

## 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.

## Release

The film premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival in May 2024. It was also selected for the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024, where it was part of the South Asia Competition section. It was theatrically released on 10 January 2025 in India.

## Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 46 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "Shahana Goswami bristles with unforgettable intensity in Santosh, a nervy procedural that asks the hard questions about a culture's social hierarchy." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 76 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

### Accolades

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