Filmmaker Sandhya Suri has voiced strong disappointment after the last-minute decision to pause the digital premiere of her film Santosh in India, calling the move “a real shame”. The film set to debut on Lionsgate Play in India on Friday, October 17 was suddenly pulled. The delay follows persistent conflicts with India’s censorship system. Suri said, “The process in India is that the censor board (CBFC) may ask you to make cuts for a theatrical release. The cuts they asked for were not acceptable to me or my team. We could not make those cuts as they compromised the integrity of the film too profoundly.”She further insisted that her objections to mandated cuts for theatrical release remained the same for a streaming run and stated, “The objections I had to cuts for the theatrical release remain my objections for a streaming release. The streamers don’t need, by law, to have censorship status to show films. But perhaps this is about an environment in which streamers take on certain objections of their own accord for a harmonious universe.”Suri also flagged the unintended consequence of pulling the premiere: potential piracy. “It was announced and now we’re un-announcing, so a lot more people are going to watch it in some other form,” she remarked. “My wish is for the film to be distributed legitimately and uncut in India.”Santosh revolves around a widowed police constable, Santosh (played by Shahana Goswami), who steps into her late husband’s job and ends up investigating the murder of a young girl. Produced by Good Chaos with co-producers Razor Film and Haut et Court, it was backed by BFI and BBC Film. The film also represented the UK’s submission for the Best International Feature category at the 97th Academy Awards. Also Read : Santosh Release halted by CBFC over depiction of police brutality and caste issues; director Sandhya Suri REACTS!.
