Satluj: Kanwaljit Singh Lauds Makers For Sticking To Their Guns, Never Succumbing To Pressure Amid India Ban

Diljit

Dosanjh’s film, Satluj, was pulled down from ZEE5 within 48 hours of its streaming. The uncut version of the movie was released without prior announcement. Trapped in censorship issues for over three years, the Honey Trehan directorial was downloaded illegally across the world immediately after its premiere. The streaming platform urged people not to encourage piracy and wait for the next update. Amid the ongoing controversy, Kanwaljit Singh, who plays a cop in the film, reacted to its delay and praised director Honey for holding his ground without succumbing to the pressure.

Kanwaljit Singh reacts to Satluj's delay

In an interview with IANS, Kanwaljit gave a shoutout to the makers of Satluj for handling the pressure well. "I was shocked because it was like that for 2.5-3 years, the case went on and I really admire my director and the producer, Honey and Ronnie, that they stuck to their guns and they never succumbed to the pressure,” he said.

Talking about the obstacles faced by the film, the veteran actor added, "When it was said that 127 cuts have been given and you can send it to Canada, all of a sudden it was pulled back from the Canada Film Festival as well. So, this has been happening with the film for a long time."Amid Satluj’s India ban, Singh added, "Eventually, they said that you should release it, 'what are you afraid of? What backlash will there be?' Time heals a lot of wounds, and after that all that is left to do is talk. You can talk and sort out something. No one retaliates like this after so long."

What is Satluj movie?

Satluj, previously Panjab 95, is based on Jaswant Singh Khalra, a bank employee, who became a human rights activist amid unrest in Punjab. He investigated allegations of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and secret cremations during the insurgency and counterinsurgency period in the state in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His work brought international attention to alleged human rights abuses by security forces.

I&B Ministry reacts to ban

Satluj also stars Arjun Rampal, Geetika Vidya, Suvinder Vicky and many others. The film premiered on ZEE5 on July 3 and went off the streaming platform on July 5. Following the India ban, ZEE5 confirmed that they are working towards solving the issue. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) officials, on the other hand, reportedly told ANI that Satluj did not have the required certification for a theatrical release and, instead of complying with the certification process, the makers simply changed the title and sent it for streaming. The official further alleged that the release violated the provisions of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The makers of Satluj are yet to react to this claim.