Santosh (2024)

There's an unusual premise at the heart of Santosh, but it's not unusual enough to seem fantastical. The film starts with Santosh (Shahana Goswami) dealing with the consequences of the death of her husband. He was killed while working as a police officer in India, and one way for Santosh to ensure that she retains her home, as well as some other benefits, is to be trained by the police and effectively fill the vacancy created by the death of her husband. She goes for this option, and is soon caught up in an investigation to find the killer of a young girl.

Written and directed by Sandhya Suri, who has only two other features and one short to her credit, Santosh was a film that came to my attention a couple of months ago, due to it receiving a fair bit of praise from film critics and film fan friends of mine. I hoped to enjoy it as much as many others, but wasn't sure if it would be as understandable to me as it would be to those who may be more familiar with the people and culture of India. Thankfully, I heartily agree with those who love it.

Looking at misogyny, corruption in the police force, and the caste system that continues to permeate all through India, Santosh is a bold and effective cry of anger aimed at a damaged, and damaging, system. The fact that we're following a female lead, and everything is presented through the gaze of a female writer-director is probably essential in showing the constant barrage of language and behaviour that can work against societal change.

Goswami is fantastic in the lead role, naive enough to be surprised as she starts her job, but quick to figure out how to deal with the situation around her in a way that can hopefully allow her to get results without upsetting too many of her superiors. There are a number of other important characters onscreen, but Sunita Rajwar, in the role of Geeta Sharma, casts the largest shadow over everything, playing a career woman who knows much more about how the system works, and how to at least create the image of a good result while so many factors conspire against that.

There's even more here than I have mentioned, not least of which is a proper ongoing murder investigation that allows our lead to follow firm clues and piece together a puzzle, and it makes this an experience that I'm sure will prove to be richly rewarding on a rewatch. Seeing how attitudes change, unpicking the language that reveals the horrible misogyny (e.g. officers who berate a man for killing someone he could have "just" raped, a horrible sentence made all the worse because of it being uttered with a tone of exasperation), and seeing how the entire system is stacked against the few individuals who might want to do their job properly and conscientiously makes for an enthralling and thought-provoking experience. The fact that it manages to avoid being unwatchably bleak, yet never shies away from the worst of the darkness being shown, is a testament to Suri and her cast.

9/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share