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Lennert Hillege, NSC, and director Sandhya Suri talk to the audience after the screening of "Santosh"
"Probably male", by François Reumont
Taking the stage after the screening, Sandhya Suri emphasised her commitment to offering a detailed, authentic, and courageous depiction of life in India and the inner workings of the police. She recounted a long writing journey, beginning with the Sundance Festival writing lab in 2016, where she worked under the mentorship of screenwriters like Zachary Sklar (JFK, by Oliver Stone) and Thomas Bidegain.
Previously known only for her documentaries, Santosh is Sandhya Suri’s first feature-length fiction film. Therefore, it’s no coincidence that realism permeates every scene and frame. “Initially, I wanted to make a documentary about violence against women in India,” she explained. “But the idea for the protagonist emerged when I saw an image of a policewoman facing protesters following the national uproar over the 2012 gang rape on a bus in New Delhi. Gradually, it became evident that the story needed to be fictional, as making a documentary on such a topic about the police in India would be impossible.”
Lennert Hillege, the Dutch cinematographer entrusted with the project, had some prior experience in India, having shot a feature film there in 2009 (Bollywood Hero, directed by his compatriot Diederik Van Rooijen). “But this time, I must admit, it was very different. It was an extremely tough experience, both physically and mentally. The work rhythm—six days a week, with some people from the local production team sometimes working seven—was intense. I’m a firm believer in protecting creative space, which requires downtime to make thoughtful decisions. Even though on paper, Santosh wasn’t a particularly complicated film to make, the relentless pace, combined with working with only a focus puller, a sound engineer, and a French producer, the rest being a predominantly local team, put immense mental pressure on us.”
Filmed on location in rural northern India, the project broke away from traditional Indian filmmaking practices, where sets are usually reconstructed in studios or backlots isolated from city life. “Sandhya’s aim was to shoot in a very straightforward manner, often handheld, blending professional actors with non-professionals while maintaining a connection to this reality she was trying to convey,” Hillege noted. He described the logistical challenges : “In the various filming locations, we often drew curious onlookers who gathered around our team and equipment, especially at night. It became a sort of cat-and-mouse game—setting up a scene in one spot, leaving the lights in place, and moving a few streets away to film another scene while the crowd dispersed, or followed us to our second location. This would usually give us about 15 minutes of undisturbed filming.”
Impressed by the quality and precision of the local crew, Hillege also reflected on the challenges of capturing a documentary-like authenticity. “The local producer had selected a team used to working with international crews. They were incredibly skilled and open-minded technicians, deeply connected to storytelling. They never gave the impression of despising a situation or being surprised by anything. Unlike in Europe, where certain requests might be met with scepticism, in India, you can ask anything. Their on-set creativity was boundless. However, their training and traditions are rooted in studio filmmaking, where everything is meticulously controlled. Sometimes we had to push back against these norms to regain authenticity.”
Among the film’s key scenes is the nighttime pursuit of Saleem, shot in a bustling Muslim commercial district. Hillege recalled the distinctive atmosphere : “This was almost semi-documentary. Many of the shots were improvised in this area filled with butcher shops, with a particularly aggressive smell. We considered incorporating the rows of hanging meat carcasses into the scene but ultimately chose not to, fearing it would be too explanatory. This is in fact Sandhya’s approach to filmmaking : she trusts the audience and avoids overt explanations in her imagery or sound. In this scene, the location itself dominated, making Santosh feel like a foreigner in her own country, genuinely in danger. It conveys her sense of being lost. Later, in the scene with the hotel, (an authentic location) in which he enters—with cows living on the ground floor—we used the lighting that was available to us, making only minimal adjustments, such as changing a few bulbs. For this and most of the film, we used an Alexa Mini LF camera with Zeiss Signature Prime lenses.”
The handheld camera work was a deliberate choice by the director, though she opted for more static shots in the film’s final act. “Take the restaurant scene where Santosh and Sharma, her superior, have an important conversation—it’s all very composed, using fixed shot-reverse-shot angles. I wanted this scene to carry a certain gravity and clarity, much like the iconic exchange between Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in the third act of Heat.”
Another pivotal scene that the public mentioned during this meeting in Torun : Saleem’s tragic interrogation, which uses sound and imagery sparingly to evoke rather than depict. The director described it as such : “We divided the scene into two parts—everything that happens before Santosh eats the samosa and everything that happens after. With the camera which stayed focused on her, her subsequent action is characterised by the vigorous, whip handheld pan, the sound of the belt striking him, implying the violence of this scene without explicitly showing it.”
When asked about the film’s release in India, Sandhya Suri remained uncertain. “We are still looking for a brave Indian distributor. Since the film didn’t receive any direct Indian funding (it’s a Franco-British-German co-production), apart from automatic tax incentives for foreign films shot locally, we’ll have to navigate the Indian censorship board’s process, which might involve significant scene cuts. But I fear it’s not just a matter of a few scenes—the entire film and its message may be an issue. Especially as I intended this story as a mirror placed in front of the audience, offering them to ask questions, rather than providing answers.”
(Comments by Lennert Hillege and Sandhya Suri reported by François Reumont for the AFC, translated from French by Chloé Finch)
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