Indian film censors have blocked the release of critically acclaimed film Santosh over concerns about its portrayal of misogyny, Islamophobia and violence in the Indian police force.

Santosh, written and directed by British-Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri, is set in north India and has won international plaudits for its portrayal of a young widow who joins the police force and investigates the murder of a young Dalit girl.

The film is an unflinching fictional portrayal of the murkier elements of the Indian police force, depicting deep-rooted misogyny, discrimination against Dalits – the lowest caste in India previously known as untouchables – and the normalisation of mistreatment and torture by police officers. The film also grapples with the issue of sexual violence in India, particularly against lower caste women, and the rising tide of anti-Muslim prejudice in the country.

Santosh made its debut at Cannes film festival to widespread acclaim. It was the UK’s official entry for the Oscars’ international feature category and went on to be nominated for a Bafta for best debut feature this year, as well as receiving glowing reviews, including five stars in the Observer, which called it a “phenomenal achievement”. Its lead actor, Shahana Goswami, recently won best actress at the Asian film awards.

The film was made in India, has an entirely Indian cast and is all in Hindi, the dominant language of north India. The filmmakers had previously submitted the script in order to film in India and had faced no issues. India’s largest cinema chain was also on board to distribute the film in January.

However, Indian audiences are unlikely to ever be able to see it in cinemas after censors on the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), a government body which approves all cinematic releases, refused to do so for Santosh over concerns about its negative portrayal of the police.

Suri, the film’s writer and director, described the decision by the censors as “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.

Suri said the censors had demanded a list radical cuts so lengthy and wide-ranging that they would be “impossible” to implement. Legal restrictions prevented her sharing exact details of the censor’s demands, but she said that the list of cuts was so long it had gone on for several pages, and included concerns about themes relating to police conduct and wider societal problems which are deeply baked into the film.

“It was very important to me that the film is released in India so I did try to figure out if there was a way to make it work,” said Suri. “But in the end it was just too difficult to make those cuts and have a film that still made sense, let alone stayed true to its vision.”

Suri emphasised that while the film offered an uncompromising depiction of the police, “I don’t feel my film glorifies violence in a way that many other films focusing on the police have done. There’s nothing sensationalist about it.”

The decision by the censorship board comes at a time when India’s cultural sphere is seen to be more heavily policed than ever, with films and TV series dealing with politically sensitive themes often targeted with hate campaigns and police cases, or dropped by streaming platforms before they are released.

Suri admitted she had been “nervous” about releasing the film in India in the current climate but insisted it was “vitally important” for her that the very people affected by the issues in the film were able to see it. It was the incident in 2012 of a women raped on a bus in Delhi, commonly known as the Nirbhaya case, that had initially inspired her to make the film and she had collaborated with Indian non-government organisations when building up the story.

Police violence and torture is a well-documented issue in India. According to a 2020 Human Rights Watch report, police in India routinely use torture and flout arrest procedures with little or no accountability.

Depictions of police violence have also previously appeared in Indian cinema but Suri questioned whether the highly realistic depictions in Santosh – as opposed to the often stylised format of Bollywood and other Indian film industries – had caused discomfort among the censors.

“Maybe there’s something about this film which is troubling in that everybody is morally compromised and there is no single hero,” she said. “I think that’s what might set it apart from other stories in Indian cinema which often show a maverick cop in a rotten system.”

No Indian police figures have responded to coverage of the film, which is set in a fictional north Indian town. The CBFC have been contacted for comment.

There is no appeals process or negotiation allowed with the CBFC once their report is submitted and the matter can be contested only in court. However, Suri said she would still keep fighting to have the film available to Indian audiences.

“All my work has been about India; one film was deeply nostalgic, another was super beautiful and sensual,” she said, “Yes this one shows another face of the country. But there’s humanity in everybody in this film.”

• Santosh is currently on release in UK cinemas