'I Want To Ask, What Is This Freedom Of Speech?': Satluj Actor Kanwaljit Singh On Diljit Dosanjh Starrer Being Removed From OTT | FPJ Exclusive

It arrived on Friday, and by Sunday it was gone. At 6 pm on Friday, Satluj, earlier titled Punjab 95, had a ‘silent drop’ on OTT platform ZEE5. A silent drop is when a film or series is released on an OTT platform without any prior announcement. So much so, that The Free Press Journal learnt that even some of the key actors associated with the film, whom we got in touch with, were not aware of its release. By Saturday morning, the reviews had started flowing in, hailing the film, which is about human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra. Khalra was a bank manager in Amritsar. He came into the global spotlight when his research regarding 25,000 illegal killings and cremations involving the Punjab Police came to light. In September 1995, he was kidnapped from his house, taken to a police station, and a few days later, his body was found bearing signs of torture.

Arjun Rampal

What was special about the film’s release, which finally took place, was that for the last three years it had been entangled in a censorship stalemate. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) demanded up to 127 cuts, along with objections to the original title and the removal of Khalra’s name. Add to that pressure from political parties and repeated withdrawals from festivals. Produced by Ronnie Screwvala’s RSVP Movies, directed by Honey Trehan, it stars Diljit Dosanjh, Kanwaljit Singh, Arjun Rampal, Suvinder Vicky and Geetika Vidya Ohlyan, among others.

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Suvinder Vicky

Silent release to sudden removal

On Sunday, if you searched for Satluj, the results came to naught. Soon enough, the OTT platform issued a statement saying, “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.” However, although unavailable for viewing in India, it is still there on ZEE5 Global. Reacting to the development, actor Actor Ranvir Shorey wrote on his official X handle, "Utterly disappointing to hear 'Satluj' had been pulled! For a land that has an ancient history and heritage of learning from stories, I don't know why we keep emboldening a culture of burying them." Rajya Sabha MP and RTI activist Saket Gokhale wrote to the MIB, questioning the decision.

What is this freedom of speech?: Kanwaljit Singh

We reached out to Vikas Raj Mohla, one of the actors in the film, to ask him about the current status of Satluj. “As an actor associated with the film, I have immense respect for everyone involved. However, I don't think it would be appropriate for me to comment publicly on the decisions surrounding its release or streaming at this stage. I hope you'll understand my position,” is what he texted us back.

Kanwaljit, who plays a police chief in the film, spoke to us over a call, during which we also asked him whether his character was based on KPS Gill, who was the DGP at that time. “People are assuming that I’m playing Gill. However, the brief which I followed was to study clippings of different DGPs and police chiefs, and I also have a friend who is a retired DGP, with whom I had discussed how the character should be,” he said.

“I spoke to Honey after the film was taken down, and he has said that they shall be taking the matter to court. But what I don’t understand is why did they have to take it off? Even people who weren’t going to see it will want to see it now. It has also been downloaded by so many people, so even though lots of people would be watching it, the producers shall be losing out. But I want to ask, what is this freedom of speech? Tell me, I really want to know. That right is being strangled,” Kanwaljit told us. In fact, as Kanwaljit said, the HD version of the movie is circulating across social media and messaging platforms.

30 years ago, Maachis was in the eye of the storm

This isn’t the first time, though, that a film based on the Punjab militancy era has courted controversy. Maachis (1996), directed by Gulzar, sparked contentious political debates regarding the portrayal of Sikh militancy in Punjab and police brutality. There were attempts by certain Indian politicians to ban it, and in Malaysia it was eventually prohibited. Interestingly, Maachis was also Jimmy Shergill’s debut before his mainstream commercial success with Mohabbatein in 2000. The rest of the main cast included Om Puri, Tabu and Chandrachur Singh.

What remains to be seen now is whether Satluj comes back on OTT, and what transpires in the court regarding the case.

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