Chandigarh (Gurpreet Singh): Actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh’s highly anticipated and long-delayed social drama Satluj has been abruptly pulled down from the streaming service ZEE5 in India, a mere two days after its digital premiere. The film, which features Dosanjh alongside Arjun Rampal, Kanwaljit Singh, and Suvinder Vicky, had skipped a traditional theatrical run to release directly on the OTT platform on Friday. However, by Sunday evening, subscribers discovered that the title had become completely unavailable for view across the country, sparking massive online debate and speculation.
Directed by Honey Trehan, the biographical drama was originally titled Punjab ’95 and has been embroiled in a severe, years-long censorship battle with the Central Board of Film Certification. The narrative revisits a turbulent chapter in Punjab’s history, focusing on the life and work of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, who investigated the extra-judicial abduction and cremation of thousands of unidentified bodies between 1984 and 1994 before mysteriously disappearing himself in 1995. The project had faced extensive delays, repeated title changes, and demands for more than 120 cuts from the censor board, which even led to its abrupt withdrawal from the Toronto International Film Festival lineup in 2023.
Following the sudden removal, ZEE5 issued an official statement confirming the suspension of the film in India while reiterating its absolute support for the project’s creative vision. The streaming platform stated that the initial response to the release had been truly overwhelming and expressed deep gratitude to the viewers who subscribed and championed the narrative. Acknowledging the suspension, the statement added that in light of current developments, Satluj will remain unavailable in India until further notice, though the network remains firmly committed to exploring every appropriate legal avenue through due process to bring the film back to its audience at the earliest opportunity. In response to the sudden takedown, Diljit Dosanjh shared a poignant clip from the movie on his social media account with a caption stating that he challenges the darkness, drawing a direct parallel between the suppression of the film and the real-life fate of the protagonist.
