After years of uncertainty, Diljit Dosanjh’s ‘Satluj’ finds a home on ZEE5

The long-delayed biopic of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, previously titled ‘Panjab 95’, finally secures a direct-to-digital release following a protracted standoff with the censor board.

The journey to the screen for Satluj has been as turbulent as the history it attempts to document. After sitting in limbo for years, the film—starring Diljit Dosanjh as the crusading human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra—is finally set to reach audiences via ZEE5. The announcement on July 3, 2026, marks the end of a gruelling cycle of regulatory hurdles, title changes, and mounting anticipation that had effectively kept the project in the shadows since its inception.

Directed by Honey Trehan and produced by Ronnie Screwvala’s RSVP Movies, the film explores the life of an erstwhile bank manager who became a thorn in the side of the establishment by exposing extra-judicial killings and mass disappearances during the militancy era in Panjab. For Dosanjh, the project was never just another role. He has spoken candidly about the script’s weight, noting that the opportunity to portray such a significant figure of sacrifice was an artistic rarity he could not pass up.

The Censor Battle

The path to this release was anything but smooth. The film was originally scheduled for a high-profile premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), but the makers were forced to withdraw following pressure from Indian authorities. What followed was a bruising encounter with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The board demanded a staggering 127 cuts, insisting on substantive changes that eventually led to a total rebranding of the project from its original title, Panjab 95, to the current Satluj.

Even after the cuts, a theatrical release planned for February last year failed to materialise, leaving the film in a state of suspended animation. Kaveri Das, Business Head of Hindi ZEE5, described the decision to back the project as a commitment to "impactful, culturally resonant storytelling," suggesting that the streamer is positioning the film as a prestige project that requires both courage and conviction to distribute.

Why it matters

The saga of Satluj serves as a stark case study in the current climate of Indian cinema, where historical biopics dealing with sensitive political chapters often find themselves caught between creative intent and regulatory caution. When a film is subjected to over a hundred cuts and a forced title change, it isn't just a production delay—it is a signal of the shrinking space for narratives that interrogate the state’s past.

The shift to an OTT platform for a film of this nature is telling. While cinema halls remain the traditional stage for big-budget spectacles, streamers are increasingly becoming the default sanctuary for projects that struggle to navigate the rigid, and often opaque, certification norms of the theatrical circuit. By choosing ZEE5, the makers have bypassed the volatility of a theatrical release, opting instead for a platform that can host the narrative without further interference. It is a win for the creators, but it also underscores a growing pattern where politically sensitive stories are increasingly sequestered to the digital space, away from the public gaze of the multiplex.