ZEE5 abruptly pulled Diljit Dosanjh’s biographical drama Satluj from its streaming library in India on Sunday. The removal happened just 48 hours after the film’s July 3 digital premiere. The platform released a statement confirming the temporary pause, attributing the takedown to “current developments” without specifying the exact catalyst.
The streaming service issued a statement clarifying they stand firmly by the project and its creative vision. ZEE5 is actively exploring legal avenues to get the movie back online. But the swift takedown confirms what the cast already anticipated.
Dosanjh immediately jumped onto an Instagram LIVE session to address his fans. He told viewers he actually predicted the removal before it happened. Playing human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra clearly struck a nerve. Dosanjh noted that Khalra’s voice was silenced back in 1995, and the actor emphasized it is still being suppressed today. Former cricketer Harbhajan Singh also backed the project publicly, calling it a must-watch film.
Directed by Honey Trehan, the biopic has survived a grueling four-year fight with the Central Board of Film Certification. The board mandated over 120 distinct cuts and forced the creators to alter character names and locations. They even made the studio change the title multiple times. The name jumped from Ghallughara to Punjab ’95, before finally landing on Satluj. The ongoing regulatory gridlock previously forced the production to withdraw the picture from its scheduled world premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.
The movie chronicles Khalra’s real-world investigations into mass disappearances and alleged extra-judicial police killings in Punjab. Now, viewers are locked out of the final cut indefinitely.