India has two reasons to look forward to the 2025 Academy Awards. While Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies has been selected as India’s official entry to the Oscars, the UK has submitted a Hindi film titled Santosh as their official entry. Starring Shahana Goswami as a widowed police constable, the film is directed by British-Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri, who had earlier received a BAFTA nomination for her short film, The Field.
In an exclusive chat with News18 Showsha, she admits that the UK’s decision to send her film set in North India to the Oscars makes a strong statement about inclusivity, diversity, and representation. “It’s really fantastic even for the diaspora here to see that Santosh has been selected. It shows that there’s an interest and that people are taking our film seriously. It’s a great honour. It also feels lovely that I have two countries backing me,” she tells us.
And what does she want to say about competing with Laapataa Ladies, which is another women-oriented film helmed by a female filmmaker? “It’s natural and normal, and it’s almost like there’s no need to remark on it. It’s not like every film I make will be about women. Santosh is a story that I felt deeply about, and I expressed it in this film. We should be as entitled as men in that position. It’s our place too. Why shouldn’t we be there? It’s great and well-deserved,” states Sandhya.
As she prepares to begin the Oscars campaign trail, she looks forward to catching up with Kiran and watching her film. “I haven’t watched Laapataa Ladies yet, but my mom did, and she thought it was great. She told me that I really need to watch it, and I will as soon as things slow down a little bit. It’s getting really busy now. But I hope to meet Kiran Rao, watch her work, and wish her luck. I hope she meets me and watches my work. I hope, as artists, we have a great exchange,” Sandhya says.
Santosh will also be screened at this year’s MAMI, which is set to kick off on October 19 and run until October 24. While Sandhya is ‘zapped’ that she won’t be able to attend the film festival due to the Oscars campaign in the USA, she’s ‘excited’ for the Indian audience to watch her film. “I’m also a little bit nervous. Every time you show your film to a new audience, you’re nervous. I had the same feeling when we had the premiere in London a few days ago,” she remarks.
Talking about the support she has already received from India, Sandhya adds, “I got a nice congrats message from Anurag Kashyap, which was lovely. We just hope we can take it as far as we can in this race. Santosh being screened in India is a very big deal for me. Both India and the UK are two very important places because the film was financed in the UK and largely set in India.”
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