Actor and singer Diljit Dosanjh’s much-awaited and long-controversial film “Sutlej” (formerly Punjab 95) has been removed from the OTT platform ‘Zee5’ just two days after its release. The film, based on the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalda, was stuck in a censorship controversy for the last three years. It was released without any cuts on Friday, but suddenly it disappeared from the platform on Sunday evening.
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Honey Trehan-directed “Sutlej” was released on ZEE5 without any cuts on Friday, but on Sunday evening the OTT platform issued a statement informing viewers that the film is no longer available for viewers in India.
The statement said, “Given the current situation, ‘Sutlej’ will not be available in India until further notice. We are committed to exploring every possible option, following all appropriate legal procedures, so that the film can be brought back to the audiences as soon as possible.” It said that the response to ‘Sutlej’ since its release has been truly tremendous. In ‘Sutlej’, Diljit plays the character of Khalda, who He investigated the cremation of thousands of unidentified bodies in Punjab between 1984 and 1994. After this, Khalda went missing in 1995.
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In 2005, four Punjab Police personnel were convicted of Khalda’s kidnapping and murder and sentenced to seven years in prison. Two years later, the Punjab and Haryana High Court increased the sentence of the four convicts to life imprisonment. “Sutlej” was to be screened at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2023, but it was removed from the festival without any official statement from the organizers. Arjun Rampal, Kanwaljeet Singh, Suvinder Vidya and Geetika Vidya Ohlyan have also played important roles in the film.
The journey of the film’s star cast and censorship
Directed by Honey Trehan, the film was earlier titled ‘Punjab 95’, but after a prolonged dispute with the Censor Board (CBFC) and suggestions for several cuts, the makers changed its name to ‘Sutlej’ and decided to release it directly on OTT. Apart from Diljit Dosanjh, Arjun Rampal, Kanwaljit Singh, Suvinder Vidya and Geetika Vidya Ohlyan have played lead roles in the film.
Now it remains to be seen when this film will be able to appear before the Indian audience again after the legal processes and ‘current situation’ calms down.
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