Diljit Dosanjh strongly reacts after 'Satluj' based on Jaswant Singh Khalra's life removed from OTT two days after release: 'I challenge the darkness'
ETimes | July 6, 2026 3:39 AM CST
Actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh 's 'Satluj' also starring Arjun Rampal finally released on OTT after much trouble and issue with the Central Board of Film Certification ( CBFC ). The film directly releasing on the digital platform after the CBFC suggested 120 cuts. But now just two days after its release on Zee5, the film has been removed and is now unavailable in India.
Soon after the OTT platform announced that the film has been taken off from their platform, Diljit has now strongly reacted to it. The 42-year-old shared a scene from the film on Instagram with the message, "I challenge the darkness." Originally made as ' Punjab 95 ', the film is based on the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra .
Diljit's Instagram post was written in Punjabi. Translated into English, it read: "#ichallengethedarkness. Shaheed Jaswant Singh Khalra Ji. #Punjab95. Satluj is what happened to Khalra Saab."
The streaming platform also addressed the film's removal through a social media statement. The platform said, "At Zee 5, 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.” Without stating why the film is unavailable to stream in India, they added, “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.” They ended the note with, “Our commitment to creators and to stories told with conviction, artistic integrity and purpose remains unwavering.”
The caption of the post read, "Satluj may have paused. But the conversation it started hasn’t. Thank you for the incredible love. We hope to bring it back soon."
Earlier on Sunday, former cricketer and Member of Parliament Harbhajan Singh had described the film as a must-watch.
Recently, in an interview, Diljit reflected on the emotional toll of making the film. He said in a chat with Variety India, “It’s honestly one of the hardest films I have ever made in my career. Emotionally and physically, it extracted everything out of all of us. There were the long days, difficult conditions and intense scenes. But ultimately, it was the nature of the subject matter which really clung on to me. I think this is perhaps the first film in my career which required me to recuperate after the shoot.”
He added, “Once a film is wrapped, I quickly move on as I don’t enjoy taking a break. However, 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.”
Director Honey Trehan and the producers have maintained that the film is based on documented events. The controversy also impacted its festival journey, with the film being withdrawn before its scheduled premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film also features Kanwaljit Singh, Suvinder Vicky and Geetika Vidya Ohlyan in key roles, apart from Diljit and Arjun.
Soon after the OTT platform announced that the film has been taken off from their platform, Diljit has now strongly reacted to it. The 42-year-old shared a scene from the film on Instagram with the message, "I challenge the darkness." Originally made as ' Punjab 95 ', the film is based on the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra .
Diljit's Instagram post was written in Punjabi. Translated into English, it read: "#ichallengethedarkness. Shaheed Jaswant Singh Khalra Ji. #Punjab95. Satluj is what happened to Khalra Saab."
The streaming platform also addressed the film's removal through a social media statement. The platform said, "At Zee 5, 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.” Without stating why the film is unavailable to stream in India, they added, “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.” They ended the note with, “Our commitment to creators and to stories told with conviction, artistic integrity and purpose remains unwavering.”
The caption of the post read, "Satluj may have paused. But the conversation it started hasn’t. Thank you for the incredible love. We hope to bring it back soon."
Earlier on Sunday, former cricketer and Member of Parliament Harbhajan Singh had described the film as a must-watch.
Recently, in an interview, Diljit reflected on the emotional toll of making the film. He said in a chat with Variety India, “It’s honestly one of the hardest films I have ever made in my career. Emotionally and physically, it extracted everything out of all of us. There were the long days, difficult conditions and intense scenes. But ultimately, it was the nature of the subject matter which really clung on to me. I think this is perhaps the first film in my career which required me to recuperate after the shoot.”
He added, “Once a film is wrapped, I quickly move on as I don’t enjoy taking a break. However, 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.”
Director Honey Trehan and the producers have maintained that the film is based on documented events. The controversy also impacted its festival journey, with the film being withdrawn before its scheduled premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film also features Kanwaljit Singh, Suvinder Vicky and Geetika Vidya Ohlyan in key roles, apart from Diljit and Arjun.
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