After nearly three years of waiting, Honey Trehan’s historical drama Punjab ’95, starring Diljit Dosanjh as human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, remains unreleased in India due to the Central Board
of Film Certification (CBFC) demanding extensive cuts. Retired Punjab and Haryana High Court judge and human rights activist Justice Ranjit Singh has now appealed for the film to be released without any alterations, emphasising its factual accuracy and historical importance.
Justice Singh, who was recently appointed chairman of the reconstituted Punjab Human Rights Organisation (PHRO), highlighted that the film’s portrayal of Khalra’s custodial killing is grounded in documented evidence and judicial findings. “The film is very close to reality. It depicts a sequence of events that was not merely an allegation, but something that was clearly established through evidence. These are facts that required to be told. I see no objection to any part of the film. What it shows is real and supported by material already on record. In my view, Punjab ’95 must be released without any cuts,” he said.
The film, directed by Honey Trehan, chronicles Khalra’s investigations into illegal cremations and enforced disappearances during Punjab’s counter-insurgency period of the 1990s. Despite being completed years ago, it has yet to see an Indian release. Trehan told NDTV that the CBFC had requested 127 cuts, arguing that implementing them would leave little of the film intact. “I understood the pressure on producers to make these cuts, but I felt the film would no longer reflect my direction. If they are enforced, I would remove my name from the film,” he said.
Trehan also criticised the board’s specific demands, including removing ‘Punjab’ from the title and avoiding references to the Punjab Police or Indira Gandhi. “The story is set in Punjab. Why would any sensible person remove ‘Punjab’ from the title itself? They are Punjabi cops wearing a turban, and they tell me to call them ‘Police’ and not ‘Punjab Police’. Where is the logic?” he questioned. On the issue of historical accuracy, he added, “They also said don’t take Indira Gandhi’s name. Okay, so then what should I call her? There’s a film called Emergency that has been made on her whole life, and I can’t even have one person take her name in the film? Why such partiality?”
Trehan stressed that the film focuses on history and Khalra’s human rights struggle, not politics. Expressing his frustration over the delays, he said, “I have waited and been patient for two and a half years. If you can’t express through your art, then where is the democracy? I have no words. This is how it is right now. Beyond a point, it’s in nobody’s control.”
The Khalra family has consistently supported the film’s uncut release. Jaswant Singh Khalra’s wife, Paramjit Kaur Khalra, opposed the CBFC’s suggested cuts, stating that the film, created with the family’s consent, should be shown as it was intended.
Punjab ’95, produced by Ronnie Screwvala’s RSVP Movies, also features Arjun Rampal and Suvinder Vicky. Initially titled Ghalughara, meaning ‘massacre’, the film was renamed after CBFC objections. Though the trailer was released briefly on YouTube, it was removed in India shortly afterward.
An uncut international release had been scheduled for May 16, 2025, but was postponed for undisclosed reasons. Lead actor Diljit Dosanjh informed fans via Instagram, saying, “We are sorry, and it pains us to inform you that the movie Punjab ’95 will not release on May 16 due to circumstances beyond our control.”
