Sandhya Suri’s critically acclaimed crime thriller Santosh, a cop drama about the investigation of a rape and murder case, has been shortlisted for the Oscars’ International Feature Film category. The British Academy has officially selected Santosh as the U.K.’s submission for this prestigious category.

The film stars Shahana Goswami and Sunita Rajwar as police officers. Following its success at Cannes, the Oscar selection marks a dream run for the film, according to its cast.

We caught up with Sunita Rajwar, who has received widespread acclaim for her roles in Gullak and Panchayat.

Did she ever imagine something like this would happen? She explains, "Aapka kya status hai, industry mein aapka kya wajood hai uss hisaab se aap sapne dekhoge na! Aapko bas ye lagta hai kaam milta rahe. Humko toh isse bhi fark nahi padta ki koi pehchan raha hai ya nahi pehchan raha. Aisa lagta tha jo main role kar rahe hain log unhi ko pehchante hain. Hamare sang koi kyun photo khinchayega? Everything changed after Gullak and Panchayat for me." Excerpts -

Talking about her role in Santosh, Sunita says,"I have been doing very light-hearted roles - Bittu ki mummy (in Gullak) and Kranti Devi (in Panchayat). People see me in those roles and think I can only do those kinds of roles. First of all, it was a surprise that after watching Panchayat, Sandhya trusted me for this role. And this is very different for me because it’s a serious role. I'm playing the role of a SHO."

She shares that before this, she had only seen SHOs and police thanas in films. She shares,"I had this image that they must be talking to their juniors arrogantly, but after meeting real-life women police officers, I realised they are just like any other person or office worker - visiting the canteen, sitting with tea, chatting with coworkers."

Talking about the brief Sandhya Suri gave her for the role, she says, “The thing she told me was to not at all play loud and not at all try to be what I have been doing. She wanted me to change my body language and speak in lower tones. Sandhya said, ‘I don’t want any smiling either with your eyes or expressions, nothing.This lady will not smile."

Sunita Rajwar has worked in a number of TV serials, films and web series, and now this foreign project. So how was the shoot different compared to her experience on the sets of Indian productions? 

She says, "Kaam to same hi hota hai. Itna bada toh socha hi nahi tha ki aisa koi project bhi milega. When we were shooting for Santosh, it was so normal. Our team was all from other countries, mostly France and British. But they are a little more disciplined. Shahana was doing the main role, and I was doing the secondary part. Shahana is also very down-to-earth. Jo star wala ek feel hota hai set pe - jo hierarchy hoti hai ki star ke aane ke hisaab se shoot hota hai, unka shoot pehle ho raha hai aur aapka baad mein - woh saari cheez nahi hoti thi. There was no special treatment for anyone. It was very schedule-oriented that we will do this scene and that scene after this. There were no demands on set as such, even from the cameraman and the director. It used to start and end on time. They work very properly, do set-up quickly, gappe maarne mein nahi baithe rehte hain. Kisi ko please karna nahi hota hai."

She adds, "Now I wish that I get more such projects, more characters, thoda respect mile aur achha kaam mile. Aisa lagta hai - ab to achha kaam de do. Though, at this age, after seeing life, I'm not getting carried away by anything. Life is very unpredictable. Aisi film hazaron mein ek banti hai aur aisi film ka aap hissa ho zaroori nahi hai."

The movie recently won Best Screenplay and Best Breakthrough Producer at the BIFAs after making its global premiere in Un Certain Regard at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

She shares,"Cannes was weird because even in my dreams, I never ever thought this would happen. When I became an actor, I only wanted to do theatre. I never had any big dreams - making it big or doing films. Mere liye rozi-roti ka kaam tha, so everything life is giving me - it is surprising me. Even getting film selected for the Un Certain Regard at Cannes was a big thing for me. Ek hota hai na ki aapko pata hi nahi ki ye kitni badi baat hai, for me, it was like that."

She recalls, "Kabhi main kisi ka award dekhti thi aur unke aankhon mein aansu aate thay, mujhe lagta tha pata nahi kaise hota hai. At Cannes, after the screening, when we got a standing ovation for 5-6 minutes, taaliyan band hi nahi ho rahi thi.I was no one for them, and still, they were appreciating my work and the character we had created. I had tears in my eyes - I'm getting so much love and admiration for my work. I never ever thought of this. Ye toh sapnon mein bhi nahi sochte ho. And now, this Oscars shortlist - it is beyond my dreams. Kahan kaise likha hai mere naseeb mein, I’m so shocked. There are goosebumps - I'm this close to the Oscars."

Vanvaas, which has released today in cinemas, is directed by Anil Sharma of Gadar fame. It is the story of a father abandoned by his children in Banaras. The film belongs to the Baghban zone and is treated like a real mainstream Hindi film. Hence, it has a wide appeal and is meant for all kinds of audiences. The film is peppered with very emotional scenes; the climax is very moving and will form a lump in your throat. On the flipside, the film gives a deja vu of not just Baghban but also Bajrangi Bhaijaan and 3 Idiots. The trailer has shown too much of the film. Before the epic climax, the film gets too dragging and some developments are plain silly. Nana Patekar, as expected, rocks the show with his supreme, touching performance. Utkarsh Sharma is sincere but could have done better in emotional scenes. Simratt Kaur, too, needs to polish her acting skills although her screen presence is arresting. Rajpal Yadav raises laughs while Rajesh Sharma (Gautam Gupta) and Rajiv Gupta (Param Negi) lend able support. Hemantt Kher (Somu), Kettan Singh (Bablu), Paritosh Tripathi (Chutka), Bhakti Rathore (Manjari; Somu's wife), Snehiil Dixit Mehraa (Anchal; Bablu's wife) and Shruti Marathe (Pooja; Chutka's wife) are fine. Ashwini Kalsekar is okay while Manish Wadhwa is great in a cameo. Lastly, Kushboo Sundar leaves a mark in a special appearance. All in all, Vanvaas is the surprise of the year. It is also the modern-day Baghban and here's hoping this genuine effort gets its due, on television, if not in cinemas. However, if possible, do give it a chance in theatres so that many more such mainstream Hindi films, targeting the mass audience, can be attempted.

My rating - *** ½ out of 5!

Mufasa: The Lion King's cinematography and the VFX will take your breath away. But it's not just a film that relies on visuals. It has a great story to tell and for that, the makers deserve kudos. After all, it's a risk to tell the prequel to a tale which we have grown up watching and which is close to our hearts. But the risk pays off. On the flipside, the two characters look similar for wide shots while the final fight is underwhelming. The English version fails with the jokes of Timon and Pumbaa. On the other hand, these jokes work big time in the Hindi version. But the Hindi songs are poor and the decision to change 'Bye Bye' with 'Chayein Chayein' (or whatever it was) is bad. Meanwhile, the English tracks are way better. As for voiceovers, Aaron Pierre replaces the legendary James Earl Jones and he does a great job in voicing Mufasa. Kelvin Harrison Jr (Taka) is the next best followed by Mads Mikkelsen (Kiros), John Kani (Rafiki) and Tiffany Boone (Sarabi). Blue Ivy Carter (Kiara) is adorable. As for the Hindi version, Shah Rukh Khan rocks the show. Aryan Khan yet again is great while AbRam Khan is lovely as young Mufasa. Shreyas Talpade (Timon) and Sanjay Mishra (Pumbaa) bring the house down. Meiyang Chang (Taka), Makarand Deshpande (Rafiki) and Mamta Gurnani (Sarabi) are impressive. All in all, both the Hindi and English versions of Mufasa: The Lion King are worth watching, that too in the largest screen possible, preferably IMAX.

My rating - *** ½ out of 5!

WILL MUFASA: THE LION KING OPEN IN DOUBLE DIGITS LIKE ITS PREDECESSOR?

The last big Hollywood film of 2024, Mufasa: The Lion King, will be released in cinemas tomorrow, December 20. There’s a lot of excitement for the film for multiple reasons.

Firstly, it belongs to The Lion King series, which has a big fan base in India. The Lion King, which was released in 2019, collected more than Rs. 150 crores in India. Its Hindi version had voice-overs by Shah Rukh Khan and Aryan Khan. This time, they are joined by SRK’s youngest son, AbRam Khan. Moreover, it looks like a grand visual spectacle that needs to be seen in cinemas.

The Lion King had opened at Rs. 11.25 crores and then jumped to Rs. 24 crores on Sunday, which was more than double the collections of the first day. This is possibly because it was a film for the whole family. In fact, it used to overperform on the weekends. Mufasa: The Lion King is also expected to follow the same trajectory.

However, the film will face competition from Pushpa 2 – The Rule, which continues to rock the box office. It will collect Rs. 565 crores in two weeks, with Thursday collections expected to be around Rs. 12-13 crores. This shows how the film is running at an insane level. Also, Baby John will arrive on Wednesday, December 25. The Lion King, in comparison, had a clean run for 4 weeks.

But Mufasa: The Lion King also has an advantage. As mentioned above, it is expected to do well in holidays. And it is released during the holiday period. Its collections will jump on Tuesday, December 24, due to Christmas Eve; it’s a big holiday of sorts. December 25 will also be huge. Similarly, next week, it’ll have the advantage of New Year’s Eve on December 31 followed by another big holiday on January 1.

The advance of Mufasa: The Lion King has been a bit slow but it is expected to open well and have a Rs. 10 crore plus opening. Once that happens and if word of mouth is positive, it will have a dream run.

The other release of the week is Vanvaas. It is Anil Sharma’s immediate next after the monstrous blockbuster Gadar 2. But since it’s a family drama, devoid of action and because the trailer hasn’t worked well, the excitement is limited.