Indian talent shines at BAFTA 2025 with ‘Santosh’, ‘Sister Midnight’ and ‘Monkey Man’

The 2025 BAFTA Film Awards nominations, announced online by Mia McKenna-Bruce and Will Sharpe, brought cheer for India. Alongside ‘All We Imagine As Light’, two Indian filmmakers, Sandhya Suri (‘Santosh’) and Karan Kandhari (‘Sister Midnight’), earned well-deserved nods.
Both filmmakers were nominated in the ‘Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer’ category, having produced their films in the UK. Sandhya Suri earned her nomination alongside James Bowsher and Balthazar de Ganay for ‘Santosh’, while Karan Kandhari was recognised for ‘Sister Midnight’. They join fellow Indian-origin filmmaker Dev Patel, nominated for his directorial debut, ‘Monkey Man’. The trio faces competition from Luna Carmoon (‘Hoard’) and Richard Peppiat (‘Kneecap’).
Karan Kandhari's debut film, ‘Sister Midnight’, is a horror-comedy funded by a £1 million grant from the British Film Institute in 2022. Starring Radhika Apte, Ashok Pathak, Chhaya Kadam, and Smita Tambe, it premiered at Cannes last year to rave reviews. Sandhya Suri’s directorial debut, ‘Santosh’, is a gripping crime drama set in rural India. Produced by Mike Goodridge, James Bowsher, Alan McAlex, and Balthazar de Ganay, it stars Shahana Goswami as a widow-turned-police officer investigating a gruesome murder. Featuring Sunita Rajwar, it was the UK's entry for Best International Feature at the 97th Academy Awards. Payal Kapadia’s ‘We Imagine As Light’ scored a single nomination in the Best Film Not in the English Language category.