Under a government scheme, newly widowed Santosh inherits her late husband’s job as a police constable in the rural badlands of Northern India. When a young girl’s body is discovered, she is drawn into the investigation under the guidance of a bold, feminist inspector. With meticulous attention to procedural detail, Sandhya Suri’s gripping thriller offers a nuanced character study of a female officer grappling with moral dilemmas, exposing the deep-rooted oppression enforced by the caste system.

Reviews

‘As well as working rivetingly as a procedural thriller and a psychological study, Santosh has a hard, documentary-like edge, exploring Indian social phenomena with intense analytical focus.’
★★★★★
Jonathan Romney, The FT

‘A tough, sinewy, satisfying film.’
★★★★
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian