Questioning the representation of war and terrorism in the media, Santhosh adopts a cynical view of the biases inherent in our current visual culture, juxtaposing images in his paintings which call into question the authenticity of newspaper and television journalism. Stylistically, Santhosh has adopted a unique and striking painting technique which makes his work instantly recognizable. His signature style of turning a positive photographic image into its negative and the deliberate elimination of details of anything specific or local in the image allows the subject to take a much grander scale and addresses the universal concerns of war, terrorism and violence.

This painting is inspired by a dialogue in 1923 between Mohandras K. Gandhi and Sree Narayana Guru, who was a revolutionary figure from Kerala. Gandhi asked him this question about how far is freedom. And from a philosophical and spiritual perspective Sree replied that freedom was very far away; while Gandhi, referring to Indian Independence, countered the opposite view that freedom was close at hand and achievable.

In this painting How Far is the Freedom? men stand in a row looking at a distance with hollow expressions at the unseen future. The composition is laid out brilliantly where a few men represent the infinite rows of men standing together, each awaiting freedom.