India, July 18 -- As the removal of Diljit Dosanjh-starrer Satluj (formerly Punjab '95) within 48 hours of its OTT release sparks fresh debate over censorship and creative freedom, actor Tillotama Shome says such challenges are not new. According to her, every generation of filmmakers has faced barriers, but storytelling has always found a way. "Whether it's censorship or the difficulty of mounting films that financiers or producers think won't find an audience, these challenges have existed from time immemorial," says the actor, who was recently seen in Ikka. Being a part of the entertainment industry for more than two decades, Shome also points out that the industry has always been surrounded by predictions. "After the release of (her debut) Monsoon Wedding (2001), the world went digital. I was told cinema is dead. I was 20 and believed it because everyone kept saying, 'Cinema is dead. Film is over,'" she recalls. Speaking about her own journey, Shome recalls that long before Indian audiences discovered her through Sir (2018) and the web series Delhi Crime, several of her films had earned acclaim overseas but failed to find the same audience at home. "Quite a few of my films did well in the international market, but they didn't have the same reach in my own country. I felt bad because no one here really saw my work," she says. She credits OTT platforms for changing that. "That changed with OTT. When Sir released (digitally in 2021), I suddenly felt a sense of kinship with the audience in my own country." Despite the changing landscape, the actor remains optimistic: "There has always been a dominant voice and an emerging voice. That struggle has always existed. And yet storytelling hasn't died because the need to tell stories, remember the past, make sense of the present and hope for the future is elemental. No matter how difficult it gets, that need will survive."...