Diljit Dosanjh-starrer Honey Trehan’s film “Satluj”, earlier titled “Punjab ‘95”, was released uncut on ZEE5 on July 3 under its new title after being stuck with the censors for more than three years. Two days later, on July 5, the film was removed from the platform. The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting cited “security concerns” and asked the platform to take the film down; the ministry has since referred the matter to the Inter-Departmental Committee, which examines complaints related to OTT and digital content.
The film remains available internationally on ZEE5 Global, and ZEE5 said in an Instagram post on July 5 that it would stay unavailable in India “until further notice” citing unspecified “current developments.”
Before certification, the film had faced 127 cut requests and multiple title changes. The Central Board of Film Certification had reportedly sought more than 120 cuts, including changing the title, removing references to Punjab, and altering details tied to the identity of the real-life subject of the story. The film is based on the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, who investigated the alleged illegal cremation of thousands of unidentified bodies during the militancy era.
Three days after the removal, Punjab’s ruling party AAP alleged that Union Minister of State Ravneet Singh Bittu was behind the move. AAP general secretary Deepak Bali, who is also Adviser to Punjab’s Tourism and Cultural Affairs Department, said he had watched the film and found nothing objectionable to the BJP in it, arguing it, in fact, portrays the Congress in a poor light.
Bittu did not respond to the allegations initially. In an exclusive interview with The Tribune on Wednesday, he broke his silence and defended his grandfather Beant Singh’s legacy without directly addressing AAP’s charge, saying the film offers a “one-sided narrative” of Punjab’s militancy years and that any reckoning with the period must account for violence by militant groups, not only actions of the state. Separately, speaking to reporters in Jalandhar, Bittu dismissed the allegation that the BJP or Central Government was behind the removal as baseless, saying the events depicted in the film relate to a period when both Punjab and the central government were led by the Congress party, and that attributing the film’s removal to the BJP is politically motivated and factually untenable. He said OTT platforms were not subject to prior government censorship the way theatrical releases are, and that government certification primarily applies to theatrical releases while satellite television and cable broadcasts fall under separate statutory frameworks. He has also accused Diljit Dosanjh of exploiting Punjab’s emotional and historical issues for commercial gain, alleging the controversy was part of a calculated publicity campaign rather than a genuine effort to highlight history.
Diljit Dosanjh, Harbhajan Singh, Gul Panag, Ram Gopal Varma and the film’s writer Niren Bhatt have publicly supported the film, arguing that difficult chapters of history should be debated rather than suppressed. Bhatt has said the makers were never given a clear explanation of which parts of the film were considered objectionable, and questioned why other politically sensitive films are not treated the same way. Diljit had told fans during an Instagram Live before the takedown that he expected the film would be removed.
Despite the takedown, the film had already been downloaded by many viewers and is being widely shared on WhatsApp, Facebook and other platforms. Punjab’s opposition Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal has announced that the movie would be screened in every village and town across the state to remind the masses of the human rights violations during the black days of terrorism in Punjab. Its subject, Jaswant Singh Khalra, remains a reference point in Punjab’s public memory of the militancy period; earlier The Tribune reporting has documented the case leading to the conviction of 135 policemen years after his crusade.
The film’s status in India rests with the Inter-Departmental Committee at the I&B Ministry, which is examining the complaint that led to its removal. ZEE5 has said it is exploring legal options to restore the film for Indian audiences. No timeline has been given by either the ministry or the platform. AAP has not specified what evidence, if any, supports its allegation against Bittu; Bittu has not filed any legal response to the allegation so far. The matter is likely to continue playing out on three tracks simultaneously — the regulatory review at the I&B Ministry, any legal move by ZEE5 or the filmmakers, and the political exchange between Bittu and AAP, which is likely to sharpen ahead of any electoral cycle in Punjab given the film’s subject matter touches both the Congress-era militancy period and current-day Sikh political sentiment.