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Internationally acclaimed film Santosh blocked in India over portrayal of police brutality

Award-winning film set in fictional town has already made its debut at Cannes but censors have refused to approve it for domestic release

However, Indian audiences are unlikely to ever be able to see it in cinemas after censors on the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), a government body which approves all cinematic releases, refused to do so for Santosh over concerns about its negative portrayal of the police. Legal restrictions prevented her sharing exact details of the censor’s demands, but she said that the list of cuts was so long it had gone on for several pages, and included concerns about themes relating to police conduct and wider societal problems which are deeply baked into the film. It was the incident in 2012 of a women raped on a bus in Delhi, commonly known as the Nirbhaya case, that had initially inspired her to make the film and she had collaborated with Indian non-government organisations when building up the story.

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