Diljit Dosanjh‘s film spent nearly three years stuck in a cycle of delays, title revisions and censorship battles. The social drama, earlier titled ‘Punjab 95’, started airing on OTT on July 3 after a protracted battle with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Remarkably, despite years of struggle, the film has been released without the cuts its creators had resisted for so long. Interestingly, the film went through two name changes before reaching this point: initially announced as ‘Ghallughara’, then renamed ‘Punjab ’95’ during the certification process, before finally releasing as Satluj, after the river that runs through Punjab.
Diljit Dosanjh confirms that the film is not cut
A key question surrounding the film’s release was whether the makers had finally caved in to the CBFC’s demands. Diljit has now put this speculation to rest, confirming that they hadn’t. In an Instagram Live session on Friday, soon after ‘Satluj’ went live on streaming, the actor stated that the film has been released in its original and unaltered form. “Our film has finally been released on Zee5.Unfortunately, we could not keep the original title Punjab 95 due to some reasons, so now it is called Satluj. But there is absolutely no cutting in the film. The version I saw in theaters two years ago is exactly the same version I saw at home last week. If there was a single cut, I wouldn’t have promoted the film,” the singer said during an Instagram Live session on Friday.
Honey Trehan supports the claim of an unaltered film
Director Honey Trehan also spoke on the matter during the live stream, sharing that Paramjit Kaur Khalra, wife of the late human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, had seen the film a second time after its release and confirmed that it was exactly the same. “Paramjit aunty also shared a post about the film and said that this is the same version she had seen earlier. Only the title has changed,” he said. He also stressed that the team had stood firm throughout the certification process, adding, “Everything I objected to, every word I refused to cut or silence, is still in the film.“
‘Satluj’s long and grueling battle with the CBFC
“Satluj’s” troubles began when it was first submitted to the CBFC in late 2022, kicking off a long and exhausting certification process. Instead of moving towards clearance, the film hit one hurdle after another as the board kept raising new objections. The CBFC had reportedly demanded as many as 127 changes, including changing the title character’s name, cutting out shots of the Indian flag and removing mentions of the Punjab police. Honey had previously opened up about how exhausting the test became, explaining that every time the producers tackled a round of objections and resubmitted the film, another list would land on his desk. Eventually, things came to a head, and the director said he would rather have his name removed from the project entirely than give in to the cuts demanded.
The real story behind “Satluj”
The film is based on the life of Jaswant Singh Khalra, a human rights activist who investigated the disappearance of thousands of Sikh youth during the years of militancy in Punjab during the 1980s and 1990s. Reviewing cremation records across the state, Khalra found evidence pointing to mass illegal cremations and alleged stage encounters. His research brought international attention to the issue and helped document the disappearance of more than 25,000 people. On 6 September 1995, Khalra was abducted by Punjab Police officers from his residence in Amritsar’s Kabir Park. He was reportedly tortured and killed, with his body allegedly disposed of in the Harike Canal. In 2005, a Patiala court convicted several police officers involved in the case, and the Punjab and Haryana High Court later upheld the convictions while upping their sentences to life imprisonment.
Satluj problems beyond India
‘Satluj’ also faced problems outside India. It was supposed to have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023, but was pulled from the schedule just one day before it was to be screened. Variety quoted a source as saying “political forces were at play,” but the festival never gave an official reason. Meanwhile, in India, delays were mounting. ‘Satluj’ was first planned for a February 2025 theatrical release, but that too did not happen as the film got stuck in the certification process. Directed by Honey Trehan, the film is made by Ronnie Screwvala’s RSVP Movies along with MacGuffin Pictures. It stars Diljit Dosanjh, Arjun RampalKanwaljit Singh, Suvinder VickyGeetika Vidya Ohlyan and Varun Badola.