‘Santosh’ Writer-Director Sandhya Suri on the ‘Heat’ and ‘Straw Dogs’ Moments in Her Crime Drama Debut: ‘I Was Keen Not to Do Something Too Happy About Female Solidarity’

‘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.

‘Santosh’ Writer-Director Sandhya Suri on the ‘Heat’ and ‘Straw Dogs’ Moments in Her Crime Drama Debut: ‘I Was Keen Not to Do Something Too Happy About Female Solidarity’

To many audiences across the globe, the plot of the Hindi-language drama “Santosh” — in which a widow takes over her husband’s job as a constable — sounds made up. But for her debut narrative feature, which competed for the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes earlier this year before earning accolades at festivals like […]

Santosh Director Sandhya Suri on Quiet Characters, Economic Filmmaking, and Emotional Chess

Emerging after over a decade of development, Santosh is Sandhya Suri’s first narrative feature after a career in documentary. Shortlisted for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards, representing the UK, the film is inspired by a real program in India where widows are offered their late husband’s jobs to sustain their livelihoods. The story follows the titular Santosh, played with remarkable nuance by Shahana Goswami, as a quiet yo…