Diljit Dosanjh Was ‘Absolutely Certain’ About Satluj Ban, Reveals Why He Didn’t Promote The Film

Diljit Dosanjh has spoken about the removal of his film Satluj from Zee5 shortly after its OTT release, saying he had anticipated this well in advance. Diljit went live on Instagram hours after the film was taken down in India from ZEE5. He explained that the team of Satluj deliberately chose not to promote the film before its OTT release as it may not have released otherwise. Satluj is based on the life of the human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra.

Diljit Says He Expected Satluj Ban, Kept Release A Surprise

During the Instagram live session on Monday, Diljit Dosanjh said he was ‘absolutely certain’ Satluj would be taken down soon after its release, even predicting it could happen as early as Monday following its premiere on July 3. Because of this expectation, he revealed that the team chose not

to promote the film before its premiere. He said the release was kept low-key as a strategic decision to ensure the film at least reached viewers before any possible interruption. He added that had the film been promoted extensively in advance, it may not have even been allowed to stream.

“I knew they were going to delete the film on Monday. I was absolutely certain about it. That’s why, when I promoted the film, I kept saying it was a surprise. I never openly announced that the film was coming. If I had announced it beforehand, the film would never have been released,” he said.

Diljit Dosanjh Says His Film Satluj Now Belongs To People

Despite the abrupt removal, Diljit expressed satisfaction that the film did reach audiences, even if briefly. He said the most important outcome was that the story of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra has now entered public discourse and is being discussed in households.

“I’m very satisfied that the film has now reached the people. Jaswant Singh Khalra is now being talked about in homes everywhere. His story has made a huge impact. It’s not as if we failed. Now, the responsibility is yours. The film belongs to you now. You have it. Now it’s up to you to protect it and share it with your family,” said Diljit.

Diljit Dosanjh On Producers Suffering Losses

When a netizen asked about losses suffered by the producers of Satluj, Diljit acknowledged that they have indeed incurred financial losses. “There’s no doubt about that—it’s a fact. But you’ll be compensated in some other way because nature never treats anyone unfairly. Nature never does injustice to anyone. Whatever a person truly deserves, that’s what they ultimately receive in life. In nature’s system, there’s no error or miscalculation. People often say, ‘This happened to me,’ or ‘That happened to me,’ but somewhere along the way, things balance out. Nature doesn’t do injustice. It may test you and put you through difficult times, but one day or another, it makes up for your losses. It compensates you in some other way for whatever you’ve gone through,” he said.

Directed by Honey Trehan, Satluj premiered on Zee5 on July 3 after nearly four years of delays. The film had earlier faced hurdles over certification, preventing its planned theatrical release. However, it finally reached audiences on OTT before being taken down from the platform in 2 days.

Satluj, previously titled Panjab ’95, follows Jaswant Singh Khalra’s story as he begins with one personal search and gradually uncovers a much larger story of alleged disappearances and custodial deaths. Set during Punjab’s turbulent militancy period, the film presents his journey as a struggle against injustice, silence and institutional denial.