‘Santosh’ review: A thoughtful study of power and powerlessness

Hired on compassionate grounds to replace her police constable husband after his untimely death, Santosh comes to the job with a willingness to serve. She finds her natural empathy tussling with a taste of the authority she has never had.

Routine police work has been gutted by callousness. Sexist chatter is commonplace. Yet, the khaki uniform places Santosh in a position of relative privilege. While Santosh is no stranger to hidebound bias in her own life, a sensitive investigation into the rape and murder of a Dalit teenager tests her mettle.

Sandhya Suri’s Santosh, led by Shahana Goswami, is a thoughtful study of power and powerlessness in Indian policing. The documentary filmmaker’s feature debut has been premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival (May 14-25).

Set in the fictional north Indian state Chirag Pradesh, Santosh views its titular heroine as both the investigator of and a witness to a horrific crime and its equally terrible aftermath. Suri’s screenplay, neither heavy-handed nor preachy, deftly personalises the manner in which gender dynamics, caste, community honour and religion skewer the pursuit of fairness.

Santosh’s moral predicament, which arises when a suspect appears to fit the bill a bit too perfectly, is similar to the inspector in Govind Nihalani’s Ardh Satya (1983)...

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