Censors’ decision disappointing and heartbreaking: SuriSantosh, the UK’s official entry in the Oscars’ international feature category and a Bafta nominee for best debut feature, has been blocked by Indian film censors, according to a report in UK daily Guardian.Written and directed by British-Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri , the film was made in India and is in Hindi. According to the Guardian report, Central Board of Film Certification refused to clear the film over concerns about its negative portrayal of police — “depicting deep-rooted misogyny, discrimination against Dalits and the normalisation of mistreatment and torture by police officers.”Several CBFC board members TOI spoke to said they were unaware of reasons behind uncertainty over the release in India. Only the chairman is privy to the board’s day-to-day functioning.” Other board members declined to comment, saying only CBFC chairperson Prasoon Joshi would speak on the issue. Only an insecure society censors art in any form Art, creativity, and literature form the soup that nourishes society. But in the end it was just too difficult to make those cuts and have a film that still made sense, let alone stayed true to its vision,” the Guardian report quoted Suri as saying.

Source: The Times March 26, 2025 21:40 UTC