Satluj vanishes after 48 hours: What happened?
India, July 7 -- F
or years, Honey Trehan's film on human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra existed more as a censorship controversy than a movie. Announced as Ghallughara, later retitled Punjab '95 and finally released as Satluj, the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer spent nearly four years battling certification hurdles before quietly premiering on ZEE5 on July 3.
There were no promotions, interviews or marketing campaigns. Then, just 48 hours later, the film disappeared.
On July 5, ZEE5 announced that Satluj would be unavailable in India "until further notice", citing unspecified "developments". The platform has not elaborated further, and neither the CBFC nor the film's producers have publicly explained the move.
HT City reached out to all stakeholders but had not received a response at the time of going to press.
The most detailed response has come from Diljit, who suggested the team always feared such an outcome. During an Instagram Live session, the actor said the makers deliberately avoided announcing or promoting the release because they worried the film might never reach audiences otherwise. In fact, during a fan interaction a day before the takedown, he had predicted it could happen: "Today is Saturday. I feel it could be taken down by Monday. But no worry, you download it and watch."
After the removal, Diljit remained defiant. "You can trouble me as much as you want. I am with Punjab till the day I die," he said, adding that he was satisfied the film had reached viewers and urging those who downloaded it to share it further.
Beyond Diljit, most stakeholders have remained silent. Producer Ronnie Screwvala has not commented, while director Honey Trehan only reposted ZEE5's statement with the message, "Tera bhana meetha lage" (God's will seems sweet).
The film tells the story of Jaswant Singh Khalra, the human rights activist who investigated alleged illegal cremations and extrajudicial killings during Punjab's militancy years. Khalra was abducted and murdered in 1995, and the case later led to the conviction of several police personnel. Because it revisits one of the most sensitive chapters in Punjab's history, the project faced scrutiny from the start. After being submitted to the CBFC in 2022, the film reportedly ran into objections and was asked to make more than 120 cuts. Trehan maintained that such changes would fundamentally alter the film. The prolonged dispute derailed release plans and eventually pushed the makers towards a direct-to-digital release.
Unlike theatrical releases, OTT platforms do not require prior CBFC certification. Industry observers believe streaming offered the makers the only realistic way to release the film in its intended form. That makes its sudden removal all the more puzzling....
इस लेख के रीप्रिंट को खरीदने या इस प्रकाशन का पूरा फ़ीड प्राप्त करने के लिए, कृपया
हमे संपर्क करें.