Diljit Dosanjh has finally addressed the sudden removal of his biographical drama Satluj from ZEE5 India. The streaming platform pulled the highly anticipated film less than 48 hours after its uncut July 3 premiere, citing vague “current developments.”
During a live fan interaction on Monday, Dosanjh revealed he fully anticipated the takedown. “I thought the film might get banned when offices will open on Monday, but I didn’t know it would happen as early as Sunday evening,” he told viewers. The actor also took to Instagram to post a defiant message reading “I challenge the darkness,” drawing a direct parallel between the censorship and the real-life fate of his character, Shaheed Jaswant Singh Khalra.
The project, originally titled Punjab ’95, centers on Khalra’s real-life efforts to expose extrajudicial killings by police during the 1990s, leading to CBI convictions years after his own disappearance. Bringing the story to screen required navigating a three-year censorship battle. The filmmakers ultimately bypassed an Indian theatrical run entirely after the Central Board of Film Certification demanded 127 cuts and a title change, following an abrupt TIFF cancellation in 2023.
Dosanjh confirmed the production team intentionally avoided heavy pre-release marketing to prevent jeopardizing the digital premiere. That quiet strategy paid off just enough to get the film into the wild. He expressed satisfaction that fans successfully downloaded the movie during its brief availability. The actor even noted the film was already being screened via projectors at local Gurudwaras.
The takedown quickly sparked intense political blowback across the region. Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal condemned the move as an assault on collective memory in a sharp public rebuke. Meanwhile, ZEE5 maintains the film is paused in India until further notice while they explore legal avenues to restore access.