Diljit Dosanjh's 'Satluj' Pulled From Zee5

Synopsis

Director Diljit Dosanjh's crime drama 'Satluj' is a film based on the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, which was pulled from Zee5 in India after being worried for more than three years even though it has just been released in July. The removal was anticipated, Zee5 said it would “take all measures to ensure the film is restored”.

They were briefly available, a Long-Delayed Release

The first-ever digital release of ‘Satluj' in India took place on Zee5 on July 3, without cuts, with a digital production by RSVP and MacGuffin Pictures, and a direction by Honey Trehan.

The movie has been languishing for over three years in the Central Board of Film Certification, which had sought about 127 cuts for the film before the makers eventually decided to release it uncut as an OTT film under a new name called 'Punjab 1995'.

The movie, however, was pulled from Indian streaming by July 5th. Zee5 has also confirmed that it has decided to pull 'Satluj' from the Indian cinemas without giving a reason - "In view of the recent developments, 'Satluj' will not be available in Indian cinemas till further notice.

We are committed to looking at all appropriate avenues in due process to bring it back to the audience as soon as possible. The platform had posted on social media: "The Satluj has stopped but the debate it has started hasn't. The movie has been continuing to be released worldwide on Zee5 Global.

Dosanjh's Reaction

The removal was tackled head-on in a video posted to Instagram by Dosanjh, who portrays the character of Khalra in the film, declaring that he had expected it to happen. He added that he was happy to see that the film had already been seen or downloaded by many people before it was pulled down, as he felt it would be a Monday by the time the film was uploaded.

The actor had been hinting at what he believed to be trouble and during the weekend, he urged viewers "to watch and share the film with others.

The Story Behind the Film

'Satluj' is a film about Jaswant Singh Khalra, a human rights activist, bank clerk and Sikh who spent years investigating the mass, unidentified mass cremation of thousands of bodies by the Punjab Police during the militancy era (1984-1994).

Khalra was kidnapped in 1995 and has never been seen again, four members of Punjab Police who were accused of kidnapping him and killing him were convicted in 2005 and sentenced to 7 years in prison.

The road to the film's release had been a somewhat rocky one. The film was originally intended to premiere in 2023 at the Toronto International Film Festival, but was removed from the lineup without an official announcement. The release worldwide was later delayed by a few weeks and finally a worldwide release date of February 7, 2025 was announced, with India being specifically excluded.

The public and piracy issues

After the removal, it was leaked online and Zee5 issued a new notice to the public against piracy: "We're hopeful and working on every possible way to get Satluj to you again. Please do not tolerate piracy. We're committed to looking at all the options. The industry has responded with queries on transparency in the decision to withdraw the movie.

Outlook

Zee5 won't say why the movie has been pulled, while Dosanjh speaks of it as more of a ‘settled and expected’ situation, 'Satluj' has now been added to a list of Indian movies that have been affected by both regulatory and distribution uncertainties.