Sandhya Suri’s Santosh OTT Premiere On Hold ( Photo Credit – YouTube )
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Sandhya Suri’s critically acclaimed film Santosh was supposed to make its streaming release in India on Friday, but it reportedly got delayed. The film that stars Shahana Goswami in the titular role of Santosh was first premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and further released in the United States by the end of last year. The film received a big applause from the audience, despite this, disappointing news surfaced on its digital premiere in India.
The critically acclaimed film Santosh was set for a direct OTT release in India, bypassing theaters, but fans are still waiting. The much-anticipated digital premiere has now been put on hold, and in a recent interview, director Sandhya Suri expressed her disappointment over the unexpected delay in bringing her film to Indian audiences.
Sandhya Suri On Santosh’s Delayed Release
Earlier, the film was set to stream in India on Friday, October 17, 2025, via Lionsgate Play. However, the online release is on hold due to censorship issues. The director revealed that the film was not released in theaters due to the hindrance from the censorship board.
Further, the online streaming is also paused at the last moment due to the same reason. In a recent interview with Deadline, Sandya shared her disappointment with the Indian censor board and feels that the cuts they want will compromise the integrity of the film.
Sandhya said, “The process in India is that the censor board may ask you to make cuts for a theatrical release. The cuts they asked for were not acceptable to me or my team. We could not make those cuts as they compromised the integrity of the film too profoundly.”
The director added that the compromise situation is for the online streaming too, and it will remain a significant objection for her to the censor board. She said, “The objections I had to cuts for the theatrical release remain my objections for a streaming release. The streamers don’t need, by law, to have a censorship status to show films. But perhaps this is about an environment in which streamers take on certain objections of their own accord for a harmonious universe.”
Sandhya Suri Wants Santosh’s Uncut OTT Release In India
Following this, the director said that many Indian viewers will still watch the film in other forms, but she desires to distribute the film in India legally and without any unnecessary cuts. “It was announced, and now we’re un-announcing, so a lot more people are going to watch it in some other form. My wish is for the film to be distributed legitimately and uncut in India,” Suri added
Santosh Plot & Cast
The plot of the film revolves around the story of Santosh, who is a newly widowed wife and works on her husband’s job as a police constable after his death. The story revolves around the investigation of a girl’s dead body.
The film features an ensemble cast including Shahana Goswami, Sunita Rajwar, Shashi Beniwal, Kuldeep Saini, Nawal Shukla, Prashant Kumar, Pratibha Awasthy, Jitendra Kumar, Ananya Thakur, Arbaz Khan, and more. Santosh is written and directed by Sandhya Suri, with cinematography by Lennert Hillege.
