India, March 27 -- The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has blocked the release of critically-acclaimed Hindi film Santosh over the concerns about portrayal of misogyny, Islamophobia and violence by the police. The film, UK's official entry to the Oscars, is jointly produced by British and French production houses, but is set and shot in India. Santosh has won critical acclaim worldwide. (Also release: No India release for UK Oscar entry Santosh?)

In an interview with The Guardian, director Sandhya Suri called CBFC's decision 'disappointing and heartbreaking'. "It was surprising for all of us because I didn't feel that these issues were particularly new to Indian cinema or hadn't been raised before by other films," she said.

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