Diljit Dosanjh’s Controversial Film Pulled From India After One Day

What Happened To ‘Satluj’

Satluj began streaming on ZEE5 Global on July 3 after a certification battle that began in late 2022. Within 48 hours, ZEE5 posted a statement to its official Instagram account confirming the film’s removal from the Indian market. “The response to Satluj since its release has been truly overwhelming,” it read. “We are deeply grateful to every viewer who chose to subscribe, watch and champion the film.”

The statement continued: “At Zee5, we stand firmly by Satluj and the creative vision behind it. We believe powerful storytelling has the ability to inspire, endure and leave a lasting impact. We remain committed to championing authentic and meaningful narratives.”

“In light of the current developments, Satluj will be unavailable in India until further notice. We remain committed to exploring every appropriate avenue through due process to bring the film back to our audiences at the earliest opportunity.”

ZEE5 did not specify what “current developments” prompted the decision, and had not issued further clarification at time of publication. F

What Diljit Dosanjh’s ‘Satluj’ Is About

Directed by Honey Trehan and produced by Ronnie Screwvala’s RSVP and MacGuffin Pictures, Satluj draws on the life of Jaswant Singh Khalra, whose investigations into thousands of alleged illegal cremations, involving roughly 25,000 unidentified bodies and enforced disappearances during Punjab’s militancy years brought national attention to human rights abuses. Khalra disappeared in 1995 after being taken into police custody, and later court proceedings resulted in the conviction of several police personnel.

Certification became the film’s principal obstacle after it was submitted to the CBFC in 2022. The board initially requested numerous edits and insisted that the title Punjab ’95 be changed.

The demands eventually escalated to 127 total cut requests. Despite large Punjabi communities in Canada, the film was withdrawn from TIFF 2023 amid reports that political considerations influenced the decision.

For almost three years, the project remained unreleased while negotiations over certification continued, before ZEE5 Global agreed to stream it in full and without edits, albeit with a title change.

The film has actually carried three titles on its journey, beginning as Ghallughara, a term referencing the multiple historic massacres of Sikhs in the 18th and 20th centuries, before becoming Punjab ’95 and finally Satluj, the name of the river that runs through Punjab.

What Diljit Dosanjh Said About The Release

Dosanjh addressed the streaming premiere directly on Instagram Live. “Our film has finally been released on Zee5. Unfortunately, we couldn’t keep the original title Punjab 95 for certain reasons so it is now called Satluj. But there are absolutely no cuts in the film. The version I watched in theatres two years ago is exactly the same one I watched at home last week. If even a single cut had been made I would not have promoted the film,” he said.

In an interview with Variety India, Dosanjh added, “After this film, I had to take a week off to process everything that I went through portraying Jaswant Singh Khalra. The scenes, the emotions, and the aspects of the character lingered on, so it took time for me to pull away from that.”

India’s Censorship Double Standard — And What ZEE5 Continues To Host

The removal of Satluj from ZEE5 in India has prompted comparisons with other politically contentious films that remain available on the platform, including The Kashmir Files (2022), The Kerala Story (2023), The Bengal Files (2025), and The Kerala Story 2 (2026).

ForbesIndian Court Blocks Controversial ‘Kerala Story 2’ Release One Day Before PremiereBy Hannah Abraham

Those films have frequently been described by reviewers and political commentators as advancing narratives aligned with Hindu nationalist politics, although their makers have defended them as fact-based or historically grounded.

The Kerala Story, for example, was panned by critics as a propaganda film for promoting the disputed ‘love jihad’ narrative and was required by court order to carry disclaimers confirming its figures were inauthentic.

It won two National Film Awards and continues to stream on ZEE5.

The censorship of Satluj also connects to a broader pattern this contributor has documented last year, when the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting denied screening permission for 19 films at the 30th International Film Festival of Kerala — including four films about Palestine, Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 classic Battleship Potemkin, and the UK’s Oscar submission Santosh.

ForbesIndian Government Blocks 19 Films At Kerala Film Festival — Including Century-Old ClassicBy Hannah Abraham

At the time, former Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac described the situation as “scuttled by GoI denying censorship exemption to 19 films, without any rhyme or reason.”

Who Diljit Dosanjh Is

Born in Punjab, India, 42-year-old multihyphenate Dosanjh has seen massive commercial and critical success in music and cinema. He recently wrapped the record-breaking sold out North American stadium and arena leg of his ‘Aura’ tour, where he became the first Punjabi artist to headline Madison Square Garden, sold over 225,000 tickets and generated over $32 million, according to his team’s press release.

His Dil-Luminati Tour, which concluded in 2024, ranks among the highest-grossing tours ever by an Indian artist. His Coachella appearance in April 2023 made him the first Punjabi artist to perform at the festival, and his Met Gala debut in 2025 was among Vogue’s best dressed.

Satluj, starring Diljit Dosanjh, Kanwaljit Singh and Arjun Rampal remains available on ZEE5 Global for international audiences.