As an artist, a woman, and somebody from South Asia, where violence against women is strongly pervasive, Sandhya Suri was always trying to find a way to approach this subject that was weighing heavy on her mind. She worked with various non-profit organisations dealing with violence against women and tried to make a documentary on the subject but couldn’t find a good way to film that violence. ‘I also wanted to do more than just witness,’ she explains.
When the Nirbhaya case shook India, a photograph came out of the protests in response. ‘A photograph of angry women protesters facing a female cop. That cop had a strange half smile or a very interesting expression on her face, which fascinated me and I thought okay that’s it, she is the way in, she is the key to this story. Because she is a woman, she experiences violence but she can also be a perpetrator of that violence.’
Seeing her, Sandhya was full of questions, curiosity and an energy to explore a film. Admittedly, she doesn’t make films to teach a lesson or make an argument but to discover and find answers for herself. She made her debut film, Santosh, to serve the same purpose. ‘I wanted to discover this character, who is a housewife and comes in on compassionate grounds, to become a police constable, and what happens to her if you put her in a certain type of place. That’s what I was investigating.’
Sandhya grew up in a small, predominantly white town in the north of England after her father emigrated from India in 1965 to study medicine. She loved languages, so she chose to study pure mathematics and German to pursue a creative path while ensuring a viable career. She also attended a film school in the United Kingdom.
Santosh is an international co-production of the United Kingdom, India, Germany, and France. It has been nominated for an Oscar for Best International Feature Film and a BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer. The film has also received accolades at festivals like Camerimage.
Sandhya Suri
RAGE AS A SUBJECT
The most interesting thing to me was about having women who are making complex moral decisions. Women can be leads often but it is just about giving them that full rounding of their light and dark sides. Violence against women and a woman’s rage is something that still needs to be explored with nuance and understanding. It’s not that they’re all going to be super mardani or kick the shit out of people. Rage and how women process it and use it is a very interesting subject. So I think it wasn’t much about sayingsomething about the character in the movie. It was about giving her space. Now, we often can see female inspectors in films but back when I started in 2015, it was quite controversial. Seeing a female constable was important to me at that time.
And given that it was a film about a constable, it had to be in Hindi. A female cop takes so much space in such a setting and explores it with all the questions that there are in the film, giving her a full 360-ness to her character. I wanted to make her whole, and I wanted to make her real.
WRITING AS A RITUAL
I used to have various writing rituals when I was younger, but as a mother with less time, I became more straightforward about my process. It’s now about showing up at my desk each day and focusing on struc- ture before diving into the writing. Once I start, the characters develop organically, often surprising me. The development of Santosh, the character in my film, has been a wonderful process. While she reflects parts of my own experience, she is an amalgamation of many women I’ve met in India during my travels—ambitious and skilled at navigating their world. The script beautifully captures her journey through grief, which serves as an emotional thread throughout the film.
CASTING SHAHANA GOSWAMI
From the moment she walked in, it was clear that Shahana fit the role perfectly. She possesses a unique strength in both her physicality and character, and when she smiles—however small—it radiates warmth. Her eyes convey a deep intelligence, which is essential for portraying Santosh, an observant character who is constantly processing her surroundings rather than being solely shocked.
Shahana skilfully conveys the grief her character carries, revealing it just enough throughout the film. She embodies the passion and complexity of a woman with both tenderness and ambition, making her an ideal choice for Santosh. I also find her strikingly iconic in her uniform; she truly embodies the role.
Words Hansika Lohani
Date 17.03.2025
