Chandigarh: Actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh took to social media to voice his defiance after his highly anticipated biographical film Satluj was abruptly removed from the streaming platform ZEE5 within 48 hours of its release. Reacting to the development on X, the lead actor firmly stated that the film is unstoppable and emphasized that nobody can suppress the voice of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra. The investigative drama, which explores extra-judicial state actions in Punjab during the 1990s, will remain unavailable in India until further notice, sparking widespread disappointment among audiences.
Addressing his followers during a live broadcast, Dosanjh assured supporters that there was no reason to panic because the deliberate strategy behind the film’s unannounced premiere had succeeded. He revealed that the team intentionally bypassed all promotional campaigns and public announcements to ensure the movie could drop directly onto the digital space without being blocked beforehand. While he initially anticipated a government intervention by Monday, the official ban was enacted ahead of schedule on Sunday evening. However, the actor expressed immense satisfaction that millions of users successfully downloaded uncut copies of the 2-hour-and-43-minute film before it was taken offline, noting that content archived on the internet can never truly be erased.
The digital release marks a critical turning point for the controversial project, which was initially titled Punjab ’95 and spent nearly three years locked in an intense legal battle with the Central Board of Film Certification. After being subjected to scrutiny and a demand for 127 structural cuts, the filmmakers resisted making creative compromises for a theatrical release, choosing instead to debut the complete narrative under the new title Satluj on July 3. Following the sudden block, ZEE5 issued an official statement expressing immense gratitude for the overwhelming audience engagement and reaffirmed its solidarity with the creative team behind the feature, emphasizing their belief in the power of impactful storytelling despite the ongoing regulatory challenges.
