Diljit Dosanjh’s film Satluj was removed from a streaming platform less than 48 hours after it finally reached audiences following a years-long battle with India’s censors.
Directed by Honey Trehan and starring Dosanjh, the film was based on the life of Sikh human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, who documented over 25,000 alleged extrajudicial killings in Punjab in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the northern Indian state was gripped by a deadly insurgency, before he was abducted and murdered in 1995.
Originally titled Ghallughara, it was renamed Punjab '95 after the Central Board of Film Certification objected.
The word “ghallughara” translates roughly as “massacre” or “genocide”, and holds deep significance in Sikh history, most commonly referring to the mass killing of Sikhs during the 18th century as well as the massacres of 1984 that followed the assassination of prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.
After the film was submitted for certification in 2022, Trehan claimed the CBFC’s demands escalated from an initial 21 cuts to 127, including, he alleged, removing Khalra's name, references to the Punjab police, locations where bodies were discovered, scenes featuring the Indian flag, and even the disclaimer stating it was inspired by true events.
The filmmakers challenged aspects of the certification process in the Bombay High Court before withdrawing the case. Around the same time, the film was withdrawn from its planned gala premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival; a source told Variety that “political forces” were involved in that decision.
Refusing to release what Trehan described as a “compromised” version, the filmmakers ultimately bypassed a theatrical release and premiered the uncut film last week on ZEE5 under its third title, Satluj.
The film was released on Friday but it was gone before the weekend was out.
“In light of the current developments, Satluj will be unavailable in India until further notice," ZEE5 said in a statement on social media. The film remains available internationally through ZEE5 Global.
“We remain committed to exploring every appropriate avenue through due process to bring the film back to our audiences at the earliest opportunity. Our commitment to creators and to stories told with conviction, artistic integrity, and purpose remains unwavering,” the platform added.
The streamer did not elaborate what it meant by “the current developments”.
Satluj may have paused. But the conversation it started hasn’t.
— ZEE5Official (@ZEE5India) July 5, 2026
Thank you for the incredible love.
We hope to bring it back soon.#Satluj pic.twitter.com/Ox3MZIBvlT
Sources familiar with the matter told NDTV the film had been removed after a review because certain portions “could be misused by anti-India forces”.
Under Indian law, films intended for theatrical release must first be examined and certified by CBFC, a statutory body established under the Cinematograph Act of 1952.
But titles made exclusively for streaming platforms don’t require CBFC certification. Platforms like ZEE5, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video are instead governed by the Information Technology Rules, 2021, which place responsibility on the platforms to regulate content and comply with Indian law.
Mr. @prasoonjoshi_
— Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) July 6, 2026
Can you please enlighten us on why 127 cuts were recommended for the film Panjab '95?
The same film, now renamed ‘Satluj’, has been taken down from an OTT platform in less than two days. The CBFC has no jurisdiction over OTT platforms or international…
The takedown came as a shock to Trehan, who told the Indian Express he found out about the removal from ZEE5 in India “at around 8.15pm on Sunday”.
“I am at a loss right now. I don't know how to react to this development,” he said.
Barely an hour before the film disappeared from the platform, Trehan had spoken to The Hollywood Reporter India about finally being able to bring the project to an Indian audience.
“Apart from the core corporate team, the only person who knew about the drop was Diljit,” he said. “To be frank, a part of my brain had lost faith that it would ever come out.”
Trehan said he had always intended to release the film in theatres but, “roadblocks kept multiplying”.
“It was an endless cycle of: ‘Cut this, delete that, alter this section.’ The frustrating part was that I wasn’t receiving any legitimate, logical explanations as to why these cuts were being demanded,” he said.
He said the last substantive communication with the CBFC took place around December 2024, after which there was what he described as “a total blackout”.
The Independent has reached out to CBFC and ZEE5 for comment.
Punjab 95/Satluj has now been barred from:
— Uday Bhatia (@yooday) July 6, 2026
- TIFF premiere
- India theatrical release
- International release
- Streaming release
I can't think of another film that's been so comprehensively buried pic.twitter.com/IB8r21D1r3
Khalra, a former bank employee, spent years examining municipal records and said they revealed over 25,000 illegal cremations linked to the Punjab Police’s counterinsurgency operations.
On 6 September 1995, Khalra was abducted outside his home in Amritsar. A subsequent investigation found that he had been kidnapped and murdered by police officers.
In 2005, six former Punjab police personnel were convicted of abducting and murdering the activist. In 2007, the Punjab and Haryana High Court increased the sentences of four of them to life in prison. The Supreme Court upheld the convictions in 2011.
Rather than accept the cuts demanded by the CBFC, the filmmakers opted to release the project uncut on streaming. Speaking to Variety before the launch, Trehan said: “This is the complete film, without any cuts or compromises, in its original form as we always intended.”
Imagine a film fighting the CBFC for years, taking 120+ cuts, changing its entire title to release uncut on OTT, only to vanish in 2 days.
— Sincere Dibya (@TheSincereDude) July 5, 2026
This is exactly where creative freedom stands today. Propaganda gets a free pass and tax-free status, while a real, documented historical… https://t.co/3iJeyTNoqQ
Even before the film was removed, Dosanjh appeared to anticipate its fate. During an Instagram Live on Saturday, he urged viewers to download the film while it remained available. “I thought it could be taken down by Monday. But no worries, you download it.”
After the takedown, he said on social media that it had not come as a shock to him.
“I thought Satluj would be removed once offices open on Monday. However, I didn’t expect it will happen on Sunday itself,” he said.
He added that he was relieved the film had reached audiences before it disappeared. “Many people have already downloaded it. Once anything lands online, it never gets deleted,” he said, encouraging viewers to share the film with friends.
Within hours of the takedown, pirated copies of Satluj had begun circulating online, with users sharing download links across social media platforms.
Regarding the shameful ban on the film "Satluj"/"Punjab 95" in India
— Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) July 6, 2026
I thankfully got a chance to watch the extremely powerful film "Satluj" on Zee5 over the weekend before the Modi Govt abruptly pulled it down.
The film tells the story of human rights crusader Jaswant Singh… pic.twitter.com/gG8sPFOV5O
Members of Punjab’s governing Aam Aadmi Party, the opposition Congress, and the Shiromani Akali Dal all criticised the decision, arguing that the film depicted documented allegations of human rights abuses during one of the state's darkest periods.
Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, a spokesperson for the Aam Aadmi Party, said the film “amplifies the voice of the Sikh community” and portrays “the pain of that era”, asking why it hadn’t been allowed a theatrical release.
In an X post, Malwinder Singh Kang, an MP from the party, called the decision “beyond shocking”. “When a nation begins to fear its own history, censorship becomes its most dangerous weapon.”
Congress party legislator Sukhpal Singh Khaira said the movie dealt with "serious human rights issues" that had been examined by the Supreme Court, while Akali Dal’s Bikram Singh Majithia said on X that “history cannot be banned”.
