Diljit Dosanjh on Satluj, formerly Punjab 95, releasing uncut after 3-year CBFC battle: ‘If even a single cut was made’

FOr nearly troika years, Diljit Dosanjh's shoot remained caught in an interminable rhythm of delays, statute title changes and censorship hurdles. Now, the wait is finally over. The actor's social drama Satluj, earlier known as Punjab 95, started streaming on ZEE5 Global on July 3 after a prolonged battle with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Despite the long road to release, the film has arrived without the cuts its makers had spent years fighting against.Before it finally reached audiences, the film had already changed names twice. It was first announced as Ghallughara, later became Punjab '95 during the CBFC certification process, and has now been released as Satluj, named after the river in Punjab.Diljit Dosanjh says the film has no cutsOne of the biggest questions surrounding the film's release was whether the makers had eventually given in to the CBFC's demands. Diljit Dosanjh has now made it clear that they did not. Speaking during an Instagram Live session on Friday, shortly after Satluj began streaming, the actor said the film has been released exactly as it was originally made.“Our film has finally been released on Zee5.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,” Diljit said on Friday.Director Honey Trehan also addressed the issue during the livestream. He revealed that Paramjit Kaur Khalra, wife of late human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, had watched the film again after its release and confirmed that it was unchanged.“Paramjit aunty also shared a post about the film and said this is the very same version she had watched earlier. Only the title has changed,” he said.Trehan further stressed that the team had stood by the film throughout the certification process. “Everything I objected to, every word I refused to cut or mute, is still there in the film.”What happened during the CBFC certification?When Satluj was submitted to the CBFC in late 2022, the certification process turned into a long and frustrating wait. Instead of getting clearance, the film remained stuck as the board repeatedly raised objections. Reports said the CBFC had asked for 127 changes, including changing the lead character's name, removing shots featuring the Indian flag and deleting references to the Punjab Police.Honey Trehan has previously spoken about how draining the process became. He said every time the makers addressed one set of objections and submitted the film again, another list of changes would arrive. The situation eventually reached a point where the director said he would rather remove his name from the film than accept the cuts that had been demanded.What is Satluj about?Satluj draws inspiration from the life of Jaswant Singh Khalra, the human rights activist who investigated the alleged disappearance of thousands of Sikh youths during Punjab's militancy years in the 1980s and 1990s. While examining records at cremation grounds across the state, Khalra uncovered evidence that pointed to large-scale illegal cremations and alleged fake encounters. His findings brought international attention to the issue and documented the disappearance of over 25,000 people.On September 6, 1995, Khalra was abducted by Punjab Police officers outside his home in Amritsar's Kabir Park. He was allegedly tortured and killed, with his body believed to have been thrown into the Harike canal. A Patiala court convicted several police officers in the case in 2005, and the Punjab and Haryana High Court later upheld the convictions while enhancing their sentences to life imprisonment.The Toronto setback and another delayThe film also ran into trouble outside India. It was scheduled to make its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023 but was pulled from the line-up just a day before the screening. At the time, Variety quoted a source claiming that "political forces were at play," although the festival did not officially address the reason behind the decision.Back home, the wait only got longer. Satluj was initially slated for a theatrical release in February 2025, but those plans never materialised as the film remained caught in the certification process.Directed by Honey Trehan, Satluj is backed by Ronnie Screwvala's RSVP Movies in association with MacGuffin Pictures. Apart from Diljit Dosanjh, the film also stars Arjun Rampal, Kanwaljit Singh, Suvinder Vicky, Geetika Vidya Ohlyan and Varun Badola.