Actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh says the ban on his film "Satluj", which was quietly released on ZEE5 without any cuts on Friday and removed just two days later, was bound to happen and he was expecting it -- but on Monday when offices open. The Honey Trehan-directed film features Dosanjh as human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra who was abducted in 1995 and was never seen after that. The film, originally titled "Punjab 1995", was stuck with the censors for more than three years. The director and actor refused to release it with the 127 cuts suggested by the Central Board of Film Certification.
"Today is Sunday but it must be Monday in India. It is Sunday evening at my place. I had a feeling on Friday that something like this will happen. This was already on my mind. It is not something to be shocked about (the ban). I thought that it will be banned on Monday when the offices open," Dosanjh said on Monday in an Instagram Live from the US where he is currently on tour. "But I did not have an idea that it will happen on Sunday evening itself. We did not even promote the film, we released it just like that. If we had promoted it, it would not have lasted even two days. But I am satisfied that people have seen the film, it has reached them," Dosanjh said in Punjabi.
On Monday, a day after Zee 5 issued a statement that to inform viewers that it's no longer available in India, Dosanjh said he is happy many people have seen the film or downloaded it. "The youth today is talking about the film. I saw a lovely video about the film being shown at a gurudwara, possibly in Rajasthan. I am satisfied that the film has reached you," he added on Instagram Live, his preferred mode of communication these days. The hard work done by the film's team has reached people, Dosanjh said, encouraging people to share "Satluj" and watch it wherever and however they can. "It was very important that it should reach you and that has happened... I am thankful that what we wanted to say and the way we wanted to say, it has been conveyed. It is your film and you can watch it the way you want to," he said. "This was the only way to release the film... without saying anything because this was bound to happen," he added.
The more you try to stop the film, now re-titled "Satluj", the more popular it will become, Dosanjh said, adding that nothing disappears from the internet, not even a voice note on Whatsapp. On Sunday night, he shared a scene from the movie where Khalra says, "I challenge the darkness", to react to the removal of the film from the OTT platform. Hours earlier, ZEE5 put out a statement saying, "In light of the current developments, 'Satluj' will be unavailable in India until further notice. We remain committed to exploring every appropriate avenue through due process to bring the film back to our audiences at the earliest opportunity." The streamer did not specify what it meant by "current developments", but said the response to the film had been overwhelming and they fully back the creative conviction behind the movie. "Satluj" delves into the life of Khalra who investigated the cremation of thousands of unidentified bodies in Punjab during a 10-year period from 1984 to 1994. He disappeared in 1995.
In 2005, four Punjab Police personnel were convicted for his abduction and murder and sentenced to seven years in prison. Two years later, the Punjab and Haryana High Court enhanced their sentence to life imprisonment. In 2023, the movie was scheduled to have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) but was removed from the line-up without any official statement from the organisers. "Punjab '95" was slated for a worldwide release on February 7, 2025, without any cuts, except in India. But that release also did not happen. The film is produced by Trehan, Abhishek Chaubey and Ronnie Screwvala, under the banners MacGuffin Pictures and RSVP. It also features Arjun Rampal, Kanwaljit Singh, Suvinder Vicky and Geetika Vidya Ohlyan in key roles.