Dir. Sandhya Suri
2025 | 120 mins | UK, France, Germany | Hindi with English Subtitles
Shahana Goswami, Sanjay Bishnoi, Sunita Rajwar

Showing Times

• Fri 11 Apr: 8:15pm*
• Sat 12 Apr: 8:15pm
• Tue 15 Apr: 8:15pm
• Thu 17 Apr: 8:15pm

A widow-turned-police officer investigates a troubling murder in British Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri’s (I for India, Around India with a Movie Camera) fiction feature debut, screened in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 2024.

After her constable husband is killed on the job in remote northern India, Santosh (Shahana Goswami) reluctantly assumes his role. When a teenage Dalit (low caste) girl is found murdered and a Muslim boy is suspected, igniting protests in the local community, she is pulled into the case under the command of new female superior Inspector Sharma (Sunita Rajwar), who skilfully navigates their police station’s misogynistic culture while remaining a fierce advocate against gendered violence. As the case develops, though, both women must confront their place within a corrupt (and corrupting) system, and Santosh’s personal ethics are painfully challenged by the realities of her world.

A deft thriller interrogating hierarchies of gender, caste, religion and class in rural India, with superb performances from Goswami and Rajwar, Santosh combines a complex character study with searing social critique.

*Fri 11 April will be preceded by a specially recorded intro produced in Partnership with Reclaim the Frame.

Reclaim the Frame champion marginalised perspectives in cinema, and connect audiences through community building and conversation.
In partnership with cinemas, distributors and festivals across the UK and beyond, they create impactful and inclusive campaigns to build audiences for films they support.

BBFC Rating

Rated 15 – very strong language, strong violence, sexual violence references