Just two days after Laapataa Ladies was selected as India’s official Oscars entry, another Hindi film, Santosh, has also secured a position in the Oscars race, this time on behalf of the UK. Directed by Sandhya Suri, this police procedural drama has been named the UK’s official submission for Best International Feature Film for the 2025 Oscars.
As reported by Deadline, Santosh was picked by BAFTA, the organization that selects the UK’s submission to the American Academy. The film features Shahana Goswami and Sunita Rajwar in lead roles and premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Santosh qualified for consideration in the UK due to its wide release there and the backing of British producers. The film is produced by Mike Goodridge, James Bowsher, Balthazar de Ganay, and Alan McAlex, with executive producers including Ama Ampadu, Eva Yates, Diarmid Scrimshaw, Lucia Haslauer, and Martin Gerhard. Produced by Good Chaos, it is co-produced by Razor Film and Haut et Court, and financed by BFI and BBC Film. The UK frequently opts for non-English films, aligning with the requirement for the Best International Feature Film category at the Oscars.
Written and directed by Suri, Santosh is an engaging investigative thriller that centers on a newly widowed woman in rural Northern India. She inherits her late husband’s position as a police constable and becomes entangled in a murder investigation.
The film will now compete alongside Laapataa Ladies and numerous other international entries for an Oscars nomination, with the final nominees expected to be announced in January 2025.
