Actor Shahana Goswami’s film ‘Santosh’ is steadily making its way towards being nominated in the International Feature Film category at the 97th Academy Awards. In a recent conversation, Shahana, who portrays a police officer in the film, expressed her feelings of happiness, pride, and encouragement after the film was shortlisted for the prestigious awards. She also emphasised that this moment is a cause for celebration not only for her but also for the director, Sandhya Suri, and the entire crew involved.
The film is an international co-production involving the United Kingdom, India, Germany, and France. It was, however, the UK’s official submission for the Oscars, and Shahana strongly believes that India has every reason to take pride in the film as well. The actress told Hindustan Times, “I don’t believe in the segregation of ‘this is mine and that is yours.’ There is a huge Indian team involved. India has every reason to be proud of it as well. I don’t think it is a country-specific thing.”

She believes that the movie is more thematic and about storytelling and diversity. It has nothing to do with who submitted the movie, as long as the story is rooted in India.

‘Santosh’ will compete with 14 other films for a coveted Oscar nomination. She expresses a hopeful yet calm outlook regarding the potential success of the film. The actress shared that she would be pleased if the film receives nominations, but is also accepting of any outcome, trusting her intuition that the film has a good chance of being nominated.
Meanwhile, India’s official entry to the Oscars, Kiran Rao’s ‘Laapataa Ladies’, could not make it to the list.