In March 2025, news reports said India’s Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) refused theatrical certification for Sandhya Suri’s film Santosh after raising concerns about its portrayal of police and sensitive social issues. The filmmakers declined proposed edits they said would compromise the film. That is a reported certification dispute—not evidence of a court-ordered ban, and not proof by itself of a uniform pattern across Indian cinema.
What happened to Santosh in India?
Santosh follows a young widow who joins the police force and investigates the murder of a young Dalit girl, according to The Guardian’s March 26, 2025 report. The Guardian and The Indian Express’s March 2025 report attributed the CBFC’s objections to the film’s negative portrayal of police and its treatment of issues including misogyny, Islamophobia and police violence.
The reports describe a refusal of theatrical certification after the board proposed cuts that director Sandhya Suri did not accept. Suri described the outcome as “heartbreaking,” The Indian Express reported. The sources do not provide the CBFC’s case-specific written order or an exhaustive list of the requested edits, so the exact changes cannot be stated with confidence.
Was Santosh banned?
“Blocked” is the wording used in some coverage, but the established event is a reported refusal of theatrical certification and a dispute over proposed edits. The available sources do not establish a court finding that the film was banned, a judicial review of the CBFC decision, or a separate state-level exhibition order. Those are distinct actions and should not be treated as interchangeable.
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Nor do the cited reports establish whether Santosh is currently available to watch in India. A viewer should check a current distributor or streaming-platform listing for the relevant territory; this account cannot confirm a present Indian release or streaming option.
How film certification works in India
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting says the CBFC certifies films under the Cinematograph Act, 1952, the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, and associated guidelines. The ministry lists grounds relevant to cuts or modifications as sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, defamation, contempt of court, and incitement to an offence. These are the framework’s statutory parameters; they do not, by themselves, establish which ground the board applied in the Santosh case. See the ministry’s March 13, 2026 release on film certification.
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The published review timeline
The CBFC’s Film Certification Process page says applications are submitted online through e-Cinepramaan and lists a total of 48 days across the stages of scrutiny, committee formation, forwarding the report, communicating an order, an applicant reply, examination of cuts and certificate issuance. That is the published process schedule, not a guarantee that every application concludes within 48 days.
Creative freedom is also part of the stated framework
The CBFC’s published guidelines include the objective that “artistic expression and creative freedom are not unduly curbed.” The Santosh dispute puts that stated objective alongside the board’s certification role: the public reporting describes objections and proposed edits, while the filmmakers’ refusal to make cuts reflects their view that the changes would compromise the work.
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What certification numbers can—and cannot—show
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting reported that 15,444 films were certified in fiscal year 2024–25. Its same series records 8,299 in 2020–21, 12,719 in 2021–22, 18,070 in 2022–23 and 17,431 in 2023–24. These are counts of films certified, not counts of films censored, cut, refused or released theatrically; they cannot establish how frequently the CBFC required changes or denied certification.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What this case says about censorship—and what it does not
Santosh is a concrete example of how certification decisions can become a dispute over a film’s representation of institutions and social harms. But one reported case, without its written order or a broader set of documented cases, cannot support the sweeping claim that Indian filmmakers have “no escaping” censorship or that all film censorship operates in the same way. A certification refusal, demanded edits, a court order, a state restriction on exhibition and a platform’s distribution decision each involve different actors and procedures.
The most precise conclusion is narrower: in March 2025, reports said the CBFC refused theatrical certification for Santosh after concerns about its content, and the filmmakers did not accept proposed cuts. The available reporting does not settle the full rationale in an official case-specific document or the film’s current availability in India.
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