Santosh, the UK’s official entry in the Oscars’ international feature category and a Bafta nominee for best debut feature, has been blocked by Indian film censors, according to a report in UK daily Guardian. Written and directed by British-Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri , the film was made in India and is in Hindi. According to the Guardian report, Central Board of Film Certification refused to clear the film over concerns about its negative portrayal of police — “depicting deep-rooted misogyny, discrimination against Dalits and the normalisation of mistreatment and torture by police officers.
” Censors’ decision disappointing and heartbreaking: Suri Several CBFC board members TOI spoke to said they were unaware of reasons behind uncertainty over the release in India. “The film also grapples with the issue of sexual violence in India , particularly against lower caste women, and the rising tide of anti-Muslim prejudice in the country,” adds the report. Author and CBFC board member Ramesh Patange said, “I attend movie reviews once a month, and my role is limited to that.
Only the chairman is privy to the board’s day-to-day functioning.” Other board members declined to comment, saying only CBFC chairperson Prasoon Joshi would speak on the issue. Efforts to contact Joshi were unsuccessful at the time of going to press.
CBFC board member and filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri told TOI from Puducherry that he was unaware of any issues with the film. “In my personal ca.
