Censorship is the rule rather than the exception – ‘Santosh’ is the latest example

Sunita Rajwar and Shahana Goswami in Santosh (2024). Courtesy: Good Chaos.

Plus: Reviews of ‘Thamma’, 'The Perfect Neighbour' and ‘The Monster of Florence’. Here are this week's top reads from The Reel.

Sandhya Suri’s Santosh was supposed to be out on Lionsgate Play. Then it wasn’t. There is simply no escaping the censor board.

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Dalit Subbaiah, renowned in Tamil Nadu for his stirring protest music, died in 2022. A documentary pays tribute to his legacy.

The Diwali releases include Thamma, starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Rashmika Mandanna and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The latest in a horror comedy series is about good and evil vampires who run into the werewolf Bhediya.

No means yes in Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat, starring Harshvardhan Rane and Sonam Bajwa.

The series The Monster of Florence tries to make sense of Italy’s most notorious serial killer.

The documentary The Perfect Neighbour stunningly uses body cam footage to tell a harrowing story of hate.

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There is no escaping film censorship in India – ‘Santosh’ is only the latest example

October 24-31 watchlist: ‘Baahubali: The Epic’, ‘Bugonia’, ‘Dies Irae’ and ‘Kurukshetra: Part 2’

Activist Dalit Subbaiah lives on in a stirring documentary about his protest music

‘Thamma’ review: Vampire comedy lacks blood and bite

‘Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat’ review: One-sided love saga champions stalkers

Review: In ‘The Monster of Florence’, ambiguity is the only truth

Start the week with a film: In ‘The Perfect Neighbour’, a starring role for bodycam footage

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In ‘Gail & Bharat’, a portrait of renowned Dalit studies scholar Gail Omvedt

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In ‘Don’t Tell Mother’, 1990s Bengaluru and the beginning of the end of childhood

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A document of the times: Anand Patwardhan on being the ‘recorder’ rather than the creator of the moment

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Why cats play such a huge role in ‘Bad Girl’ and other tales

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‘Sabar Bonda’ and the tender fruit of a forbidden romance

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Two women decide to set up a craft beer company. Why is that so hard?

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‘Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra’ - Why everyone is talking about the Malayalam superhero film

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A set of documentaries examine the intricate footwork involved in the dance of democracy

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How did the women who studied at the Film and Television Institute of India respond to the place and its people?

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Why we are surprised and not surprised that the Kannada film ‘Su FromSo’ is a breakout hit

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Himesh Reshammiya is back. But why?

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Surprised by how well ‘Saiyaara’ had done? You shouldn’t be

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The medium can sometimes be the message: 'Dhadak 2' and 'Feminist Fathima'

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On Guru Dutt’s birth centenary, looking at his legacy, and how he wasreceived in his lifetime

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A week of retreads, remakes, and recreations

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Fifty years since a film was destroyed during the Emergency, what have we learnt, if anything at all?

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Two Diljit Dosanjhs, one in plain view and the other hidden

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Why was Dilip Kumar known as ‘Tragedy King’?

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Who’s the biggest gangster in Thug Life, Mani Ratnam’s much-touted reunion with Kamal Haasan?

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