Ram Gopal Varma reviews Diljit Dosanjh's Satluj, hopes it won't ‘meet the same fate as Jaswant Singh Khalra’

HOney Trehan’s Diljit Dosanjh-starrer, which was antecedently titled Punjab ‘95, was released on Zee5 on fri as Satluj. The take received gush reviews and was widely discussed before it was pulled from the OTT political platform in India by Sunday evening. Ram Gopal Varma posted a review for the film on Tuesday, making an appeal for it not to be ‘encountered’.Ram Gopal Varma says Satluj has no ‘chest thumping heroism’RGV began his review of Satluj by calling it a wound that will never heal. “Just saw SATLUJ and it is not a film, but a deep wound that will never heal. It stirs up the sludge in one of the darkest chapters of our history,” wrote the filmmaker, adding, “This is cinema used as confrontation, where @diljitdosanjh acts with a quiet fury with no chest thumping heroism.. His only weapons are a ledger and a conscience. @rampalarjun adds layers of moral rot in the institutional complicity that feels chillingly realistic.” He also praised Honey for not sensationalising what unfolds in the film and instead ensuring the film hits harder. “Director @honeytrehan instead of sensationalising the horror unfolds the film like a slow burn investigative thriller through bureaucratic files, cremation records, and hushed conversations. This restraint makes the brutality of the subject matter hit that much harder because it explodes with the force of truth and not exploitation,” wrote RGV.Appeals for Satluj not to meet the same fate as Jaswant Singh KhalraRGV also wrote that Satluj has done its job as it made people uncomfortable, writing, “The philosophical core of the film about how a democracy devours its own citizens and then tries to erase the evidence is explored without any preachiness and that’s no normal achievement. The various issues surrounding its exhibition and publication prove that any art which makes the powerful uncomfortable has done its job, and that is the true purpose of true art, which SATLUJ is.”“It is highly courageous essential filmmaking because it unsettles, educates, and lingers. In the times where main stream chases spectacle and popcorn cinema, SUTLEJ shoots out a hard reminder of what cinematic medium can truly achieve when it takes on truth and honesty,” summed up RGV, adding an appeal, “SATLUJ is a film that has to be seen, shown, discussed, debated and not ENCOUNTERED like the victims in the film. My appeal to all the powers is, please don’t do to SATLUJ what has been done to JASWANT SINGH KALRA. TRUTH HITS HARDER when one tries to HIDE IT. — AYN RAND.”About Satluj Satluj is directed by Honey Trehan and stars Diljit Dosanjh, Arjun Rampal, Suvinder Vicky, Kanwaljit Singh, and Geetika Vidya Ohlyan. The film tells the story of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra and his disappearance after he discovers that the Punjab police force has allegedly killed and illegally cremated 25,000 bodies. It is set in Punjab in 1995 and took a three-year journey to be released on OTT. Satluj was meant to be released in theatres, but the CBFC reportedly asked for 125 cuts. The film is currently unavailable to stream in India but is available on Zee5 abroad.