Santosh
Metrograph Pictures | Release Date: December 27, 2024 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Screen RantGrant HermannsJan 11, 2025
Despite some of the movie's flaws, Santosh's cast truly shines, particularly Shahana Goswami in the titular role. Serving as an audience surrogate, Goswami nicely balances the feeling of curiosity and uncertainty as she becomes more embroiled in the case and her job. Read full review
90
The New York TimesAlissa WilkinsonJan 3, 2025
Santosh is equally about the methods by which the poor and oppressed are kept in their place, and about what it means to be woman among men who aren’t at all interested in sharing their power. Read full review
88
Movie NationRoger MooreNov 20, 2024
Goswami’s understated performance drives this brilliant debut feature, a sometimes silent observer who can barely register shock at some of what she sees and experiences. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawMar 21, 2025
Writer-director Sandhya Suri has made a tense, violent and politically savvy crime procedural set in India: a film about sexism, caste bigotry and Islamophobia that doubles as a study in the complex relationship between two female cops, a cynical veteran and a wide-eyed rookie. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleJan 10, 2025
To watch Santosh is to feel the undeniable power of a discerning, resonant case study. To fully know this character, however, is a goal just outside this otherwise intelligently wrought movie’s considerable reach. Read full review
80
Screen DailyWendy IdeMay 25, 2024
It’s a terrific feature debut from British-Indian documentary filmmaker Sandhya Suri – a propulsive neo-noir that holds up a mirror to contemporary India. Read full review
80
Time OutPhil de SemlyenMay 25, 2024
Santosh positions its protagonist as a fundamentally decent woman in an impossible situation, rather than a crusading cop on mission. If ‘Training Day with more grey areas’ sounds dull, it’s anything but. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeMay 25, 2024
As Santosh closes in on the suspect, who has absconded for another town, Suri’s film embraces the nail-biting aesthetics — dark and shadowy locales, heart-racing music — of a classic procedural. This assured sense of direction coupled with controlled performances make Santosh a compelling drama. But it’s Suri’s screenplay that renders the film immersive. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerJan 30, 2025
It seems that its depiction of institutional misogyny, police incompetence, and the continued strength of the caste system didn’t sit well with the censors. If nothing else, that’s a sign that it’s served its purpose by hitting the powerful uncomfortably close to the bone. Read full review
75
The Film StageLuke HicksJan 15, 2025
Goswami gives a subtly powerful performance grounded in perpetual shock, patience to act, and measured wisdom. And the enigmatic screenplay devises a grey area so hazy you’ll be going over it in your head for weeks, if not months, asking yourself what you would’ve done in Santosh’s impossible situation. Read full review
75
IndieWireProma KhoslaMay 25, 2024
Suri’s film is full of non-actors who excel at being themselves in front of the camera, the result so eminently watchable because it feels so remarkably like the real India. Read full review
70
TheWrapChase HutchinsonMay 25, 2024
It’s incredibly effective and culminates in one of the best closing shots of any film to show at this year’s festival. Without ever once overplaying its hand, it ensures the smallest act of resistance and compassion hits like a train. Read full review
70
VarietySiddhant AdlakhaMay 25, 2024
While often more intellectually stimulating than emotionally engaging, Santosh lays bare the dark heart of communal divisions in modern India. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyJan 3, 2025
In its most compelling stretches, Santosh operates as a kind of subverted procedural in which every aspect of the investigation is, at best, an informality of dubious legal standing. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comRobert DanielsDec 25, 2024
Even at its most traumatic, Santosh gives viewers plenty to consider. Read full review
60
Little White LiesDavid JenkinsMar 20, 2025
It’s a slow, detailed procedural, one which carefully draws you into its dismal intrigue – and it’s engrossing for much of its runtime. Read full review
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