Satluj tells the story of Jaswant Singh Khalra,the Punjab activist who was disappeared in 1995 after digging into thousands of unmarked cremations. Diljit plays him.It's a role he'd waited years to bring to screen.The film hit Zee5 on July 3 under its new title, after sitting stuck for nearly four years as Punjab 95, and by July 5, barely two days in, it was gone.Officials pointed to Section 69A of the IT Act and Part three of the IT Rules, saying the uncut version raised security worries, with some fearing it could stir up old Khalistani sentiment. Director Honey Trehan has said he still doesn't know who was against the film, since every message came through lawyers instead of a straight answer. Diljit didn't sound shocked when he spoke about it on Instagram Live. He said he'd figured this would happen and told fans who'd already downloaded the film to keep sharing it, because once something's out there, you can't really pull it back.
The panel, an inter departmental committee under the information ministry, was formed under Rule 14 of the IT Rules and can recommend anything from cuts to a full block. That's the same rule that tripped the makers up years back, when the censor board demanded 127 changes before it would even think about a release. Writer Niren Bhatt says the team is heading to court now, and honestly, after four years of waiting, who can blame them. And Zee5 pulled Satluj just 48 hours after it dropped, saying only that the film would stay unavailable until further notice.
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