Did Diljit Dosanjh's Satluj bypass CBFC? I&B Ministry claims makers SKIPPED certification process

The I&B Ministry has alleged that Diljit Dosanjh's Satluj was released on ZEE5 without CBFC certification after a title change from Panjab 95. Here's why the film was removed and what Diljit said.

Did Satluj bypass CBFC? I&B Ministry's CLAIMS Diljit Dosanjh's film violated IT rules

Satluj, Diljit Dosanjh’s new film, has stirred up quite a storm. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting claims it was released without proper certification, and it was pulled it just two days after its July 3 debut. For now, you can’t watch it in India, ZEE5 says it’s gone “until further notice.”

Here’s What Happened

According to the I&B Ministry: The filmmakers skipped the certification process. They changed the title from Panjab 95 to Satluj and put it on an OTT platform, hoping to dodge the usual CBFC scrutiny. The ministry also insists this violated the Information Technology Rules, 2021, but didn’t mention any specific part of those rules. Apparently, nobody from the film team reached out to the ministry for approval before dropping the movie online.

Satluj, which started life as Panjab 95, is based on Jaswant Singh Khalra, a human rights activist. The film faced a long battle with the CBFC after it was submitted for theatrical certification in 2022. First, the CBFC wanted 27 cuts and a new title. The filmmakers fought back in court, but a revision committee then called for more than a hundred cuts. After nearly four years in limbo, the movie finally hit ZEE5 with its original content intact, no cuts.

Diljit Dosanjh isn’t too upset. He’s glad the audience got to see the film, even if only for those two days. “Our work reached people the way we wanted,” he said. “People have downloaded it. What made me happiest was seeing folks screen the movie on projectors at Gurudwara Sahib, it brought me real joy.” The film was directed by Honey Trehan and produced by RSVP and MacGuffin Pictures, stars Diljit, Arjun Rampal, Kanwaljit Singh, Suvinder Vicky, and Geetika Vidya Ohlyan. It covers Khalra’s documentation of human rights abuses in 1990s Punjab, a subject that’s often tangled up with censorship.

What’s next?

With the film gone from ZEE5, it’s probably headed for more legal or regulatory hurdles. Whether the filmmakers go for new certification, take it back to court, or try to work things out with the ministry will decide if Satluj gets another shot in India.