Diljit Dosanjh’s long-delayed film, Punjab ’95, which released in India on Zee5 on Friday (3rd July) under a new title, Satluj, was pulled off from the platform yesterday (5th July). The film, based on the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, had been facing censor trouble for over three years.
The Central Board of Film Certification had asked for an unprecedented 127 cuts. Since the film had still not received a censor certificate, the producers decided to stream it on the OTT platform, without cuts, of course.
Zee5 shared a statement on 5th evening to inform viewers that it was no longer available in India. Stating that the response to the film had been “truly overwhelming”, the platform added, “In light of 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.”
In the film, Diljit plays Khalra who investigated the cremation of thousands of unidentified bodies in Punjab during a 10-year period from 1984 to 1994, before disappearing in 1995. In 2005, four Punjab police personnel were convicted for his abduction and murder, and they were sentenced to seven years in prison. Two years later, the Punjab and Haryana high court enhanced their sentence to life imprisonment.