Caught in a protracted censorship battle and pulled from ZEE5 within 48 hours of its release, Diljit Dosanjh‘Satluj’ has been in the news. Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the film, director Honey Trehan has now revealed that Diljit only charged Re 1 for the project and did not accept his usual fee after learning about the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra. According to the filmmaker, the actor believed it would be “shameful” to charge money to portray such an extraordinary individual.Trehan said Diljit’s commitment to the film never wavered despite the hurdles he faced, including his certification dispute with the Central Film Certification Board (CBFC) and its subsequent removal from OTT. The filmmaker explained that he had always envisioned a Sikh actor playing Jaswant Singh Khalra, believing that the role needed someone who understood the community and its lived experiences.“If Diljit hadn’t been there, this film wouldn’t have existed. I wanted an actor who knew this world. I really wanted to cast a Sardar because if I cast a Bollywood actor in the film, the narrative would suddenly become, ‘This actor plays a Sardar’. That would have been an injustice to Khalra Sahab’s journey and the people whose pain this story carries,” he said in an interview with The Print. Trehan recalled his first meeting with Diljit in 2021, which was initially planned as a brief 30-minute discussion. During the meeting, he shared his research and introduced the actor to the life and work of Jaswant Singh Khalra.According to the director, Diljit was instantly moved after seeing Khalra’s photograph and made his decision on the spot. “He got up from his chair, touched the script to his forehead and said, ‘Waheguru,’ ‘How can I get paid to play someone like Khalra? It’s going to be a shame.'”Trehan said he still insisted on paying the actor, but Diljit refused to accept a conventional fee. “However, when the director insisted, the singer merely said that if he wanted to pay him for contractual reasons, he could pay him only Re 1.”‘Satluj’ is based on the life of Jaswant Singh Khalra, a bank employee who became one of Punjab’s most prominent human rights activists. His investigation into the alleged incineration of nearly 25,000 unidentified people in the state between 1984 and 1994 brought widespread national attention to the matter.According to the court ruling cited by the filmmakers, Khalra was kidnapped and later killed while in police custody in 1995.