Just about 48 hours. That’s how long Diljit Dosanjh’s Satluj, formerly titled Punjab '95, was available for streaming in India before it was pulled down from ZEE5 on the evening of July 5, even as it remained accessible overseas. Sources have told mid-day that the takedown decision came after the government apparently flagged the film — a biopic on human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra — citing threats to national security.

Satluj chronicles how Khalra investigated the extrajudicial killings of Sikh youths during the Punjab insurgency between 1984 and 1995. Sources revealed that authorities were concerned that the film could be used to revive separatist sentiment in Punjab ahead of the Assembly elections in November.

An insider said, “The concern is the environment in which the film is releasing. There is a feeling that certain groups could weaponize the film to further their own agenda. The assessment has been made from a national security perspective, not a political one. With Punjab heading towards elections, the authorities are not willing to take chances.” 

Despite the latest takedown, director Honey Trehan’s movie — that was stuck in a years-long battle with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) — continues to circulate online. During a recent Instagram Live, Dosanjh acknowledged that users were downloading the film through torrent websites. 

Shortly afterwards, an X account user told mid-day that over 5000 people had downloaded the movie through their link. “It started with over 300 downloads, but now there are over 5000 downloads of our print,” said the user. 

- On the first viewing in 2022, the CBFC sought 21 cuts. The makers approached the Bombay High Court 

- In July 2024, mid-day reported that the CBFC’s list of cuts had risen to 85

- By September 2024, it sharply rose to over 120

- In January 2025, mid-day reported how the makers unsuccessfully tried a global release for the biopic

Four years after Punjab '95 was stopped in its tracks over objections from the censor board, Honey Trehan was finally breathing easy on Saturday morning when we got on a call with him. His film, now streaming on ZEE5 as Satluj, had arrived without a single cut.

For the filmmaker, it marks the end of a battle that often seemed impossible to win.

In his first interview since the film's release, Trehan told mid-day that there were moments when even he wasn't convinced the film would eventually see the light of day "Even till yesterday afternoon, I wasn't sure if the film would come out," he says with a laugh. "We've reached this point so many times before that I had stopped allowing myself to believe it. I kept telling myself, 'Let it go, let it go.' Then suddenly, it was just there."

The release, he says, belongs as much to the family of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra as it does to the makers. "I spoke to them immediately. They are very, very happy. It was important because we didn't get the title Punjab '95. Naturally, people assumed the film must have been released with cuts. Paramjit aunty herself clarified that this is the same film. Hundreds of people who had watched the earlier version are now saying Satluj is exactly the same film."

For Trehan, that validation mattered more than anything else. "I'm getting messages from IPS officers in Punjab asking, 'The film is without cuts, right?' They are excited to finally watch it. That means a lot."

The director admits he was initially worried that the four-year delay would burden the film with impossible expectations. "I actually felt the opposite happened. These three years became three years of publicity. Punjab '95 had become much bigger than the film itself. My only anxiety before release was whether I could live up to what people had built in their minds. But the response has been overwhelming. Every reaction has become memorable."

Trehan credits producer Ronnie Screwvala, Diljit Dosanjh and ZEE5 for refusing to compromise. "The way Ronnie sir and Diljit stood by me and stood by the film... I can't thank them enough. And what courage ZEE has shown. Hats off to them. They simply dropped the trailer, posters and the film together. There was no release date, no countdown, nothing. It was just — streaming now. I've never seen anything like that."

Throughout the film's uncertain journey, Dosanjh remained firmly behind the project, says Trehan. Recalling how the actor came on board, he says their relationship dates back to Udta Punjab. "Even before I told him I wanted to make a film on Jaswant Singh Khalra, he immediately said, 'There's only one story from Punjab worth making if it isn't about 1984'. I showed him my research book. He looked at Mr Khalra's photograph, picked up the book, placed it on his forehead and simply said, 'Waheguru ji... tell me when and where to come. You'll find me there'."

That commitment, Trehan says, never wavered. "There were days when he reported at six in the morning and I couldn't take his first shot until four in the evening because schedules had gone haywire. I kept apologizing. Every single time he would tell me, 'Paaji, no problem. Whatever you're doing, you're doing for the film. I'm here to support the film.'"

The filmmaker also recounts how Dosanjh recently waited nearly an hour for an Instagram Live session promoting the film despite repeated technical glitches. "He waited for almost 50 minutes. We couldn't connect because of technical issues. Finally, someone got us connected. It wasn't about publicity. Somewhere, both of us felt we would connect. That's the kind of person he is."

Even today, Trehan says he doesn't know who exactly objected to Punjab '95. "If somebody asks me who had a problem with the film, I genuinely don't know. I don't have a face. I don't have a name. Everything came through third persons or lawyers."

He reveals that communication from the censor board effectively stopped earlier this year, forcing the makers to find another route. "There came a point when there was simply no communication anymore. After everything we'd gone through, there was nothing left to discuss. That's when ZEE stepped in and made this release possible."

Yet, despite the years of uncertainty, he refuses to hold grudges. "I've never been bitter. Sometimes you feel hurt emotionally because you're not getting answers. But I also remind myself that I'm talking about one film. The people running the country have much bigger responsibilities. Sometimes there must have been helplessness. I respect the people and the positions they hold."

He points out that every legal body and community organization that watched the film responded positively. "The SGPC watched the film. The Akal Takht committee watched the film. Everywhere I went, the response was overwhelming. Today the film is available across 196 countries on ZEE5 and all I'm receiving is love. So where exactly was the problem?"

Trehan also responded to Diljit Dosanjh's recent assertion that he is "not political, but an artiste". Without commenting on the actor's statement, the director says art inevitably exists alongside politics. "Art can be different from the politics of the time you're living in. Otherwise your art cannot be truthful. Everything today becomes political."

He insists Satluj was never designed to make a political argument. "We're only talking about human rights. We're not commenting on the politics of that period. We're talking about what happens when extraordinary powers are placed in the hands of a few people. That's a human issue, not a political one."

Trehan believes that is why audiences across generations are responding to the film. "Someone messaged me saying this film doesn't reopen wounds; it heals them. That stayed with me. People feel somebody has finally told their story. That's probably the greatest compliment I've received."

At the time of going to press, ‘Satluj’ had been made unavailable on ZEE5 in India.

Statement by Zee5 “The response to ‘Satluj’ since its release has been truly overwhelming. We are deeply grateful to every viewer who chose to subscribe, watch and champion the film. Your love and support have meant a great deal to us and to everyone who brought this story to life. At Zee5, we stand firmly by ‘Satluj’ and the creative vision behind it. We believe powerful storytelling has the ability to inspire, endure, and leave a lasting impact. We remain committed to championing authentic and meaningful narratives. In light of the current developments, ‘Satluj’ will be unavailable in India until further notice. We remain committed to exploring every appropriate avenue through due process to bring the film back to our audiences at the earliest opportunity. Our commitment to creators and to stories told with conviction, artistic integrity and purpose remains unwavering.”

After years of delays and censorship-related hurdles, Diljit Dosanjh-starrer Punjab '95 has finally been released under a new title. The film, now called Satluj, quietly dropped on OTT on Friday. Based on the life and death of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, the Honey Trehan directorial was originally slated for release last year but remained stuck amid certification issues.

During an Instagram Live session on Friday, Diljit clarified that while the title has changed, the film itself remains untouched. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t keep the original title for certain reasons... But there are absolutely no cuts in the film. The version I watched in theatres two years ago is exactly the same one I watched at home last week. If even a single cut had been made, I would not have promoted the film,” he said.

Trehan echoed the sentiment, revealing that Khalra’s wife, Paramjit Kaur Khalra, had also confirmed that the released version remains unchanged. “Paramjit aunty also shared a post about the film and said this is the very same version she had watched earlier. Only the title has changed,” he said.

Trehan added, “Everything I objected to, every word I refused to cut or mute, is still there in the film.”

The film also stars Arjun Rampal, Surinder Vicky, Varun Badola and Geetika Vidya Ohlyan.

America-based filmmaker Roshan Sethi’s rom-com A Nice Indian Boy has become yet another victim of the Central Board of Film Certification’s (CBFC) crude erasure. The film, based on Madhuri Shekar’s play of the same name, is a queer love story between Naveen, an Indian-American doctor, and Jay, a white man. Before the film was released in Indian cinemas on October 17, the censor board demanded that ‘Indian’ be dropped from the film’s title, seemingly to separate the nation from the core theme of the film.

The film’s distributor, Pictureworks, in an Instagram post revealed that they were compelled to remove ‘Indian’ owing to the “censorship rules” in India. “Remember when the Aligarh mayor wanted Aligarh [2025] banned because she thought a gay protagonist made her city look bad? Seems like the CBFC now fears that calling a gay man ‘A Nice Indian Boy’ might make the whole country gay,” tweeted Aligarh’s writer and editor Apurva Asrani, reacting to the incident.

Following Mirror’s October 25 report on Indian cinema’s battle with the censor board, Sethi spoke on the arbitrariness of these alterations. “I think censorship is historically always very dumb, and doesn’t really work. This title change achieves nothing. Anyone who wants to watch the unaltered film via other means can and will. I suspect all of the people who watched the film already knew its real title. A censorship board composed of people who believe they know what’s best for the public is a silly exercise in pretend power, and the best thing we can do is to repeatedly puncture the appearance of that power,” he said.

“Queer love has existed in every country since the beginning of human history, and will continue existing until the end regardless of how anyone feels about it. It’s a basic, dependably re-occurring facet of human biology. Same with most things considered controversial or worthy of censorship. The pronouncements of largely older men in dusty rooms have always historically been proven to be irrelevant because they are trying to stop something that cannot be stopped,” he added.

In the past many Indian film titles have been renamed for a variety of reasons: Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati was renamed Padmaavat (2018) after mobs took to the streets and protested claiming that the film inaccurately portrayed the Rajput queen and disrespected their culture.

Malayalam film Oru Bharatha Sarkar Ulpannam was renamed as Oru Sarkar Ulpannam (2024) as the censor board commanded that the film would be certified only if ‘Bharatha’ is removed from the name. Other hacked titles include Janaki v/s State of Kerala releasing as Janaki V v/s State of Kerala (2025), when the CBFC objected to the use of a Hindu deity’s name, or Cheat India (2019), which was renamed Why Cheat India.

Another film stuck in certification limbo is Honey Trehan’s Punjab '95, for over a year. A biopic that centres on the life of Jaswant Singh Khalra, the human-rights activist who uncovered extrajudicial killings and mass cremations during Punjab’s militancy era in the late 1980s–1990s, the film was slated for a release in India in February but is yet to come out.

CBFC demanded over 120 cuts to the film, reportedly including core aspects such as removal of the name “Jaswant Singh Khalra”, deletion of real-locations, and removal of key historical references. The teaser and trailer for the film have reportedly been blocked or removed in India and the title itself was reportedly changed from an earlier working title — Ghalughara to Punjab ’95 — allegedly under CBFC pressure. The director and protagonist, Diljit Dosanjh, refused to associate with the film if it releases in India with the cuts.

Speaking to Mumbai Mirror, Trehan reveals that he was asked to withdraw the film’s censorship case from the high court and has been asked not to fight for the film’s release anymore. “Censorship should not exist at all. The CBFC is meant to be a certification board, not a censor board. Once the film is released, if anybody has a problem with the film, they can definitely go to court but the CBFC is wielding powers beyond its jurisdiction. CBFC has become more like a self-proclaimed court,” he said.

“They have been given extra power by the ruling government, for whom the CBFC is a backdoor entry into controlling the film industry — particularly films that don’t match their narrative. CBFC is an independent body, why is the government interfering?”

After multiple reports of the edits demanded by the Central Board of Film Certification for the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer film Punjab 95 hit headlines, the wife of Jaswant Singh Khalra — on whom the film is based — was evidently irate. Paramjit Kaur Khalra had condemned the censor board’s demand for 120 cuts, stating that the biopic on her husband’s life was made with the family’s consent, and should be released without changes. Now, mid-day hears that the film on the social activist is finally headed to screens sans any cuts, following a string of measures taken by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).

In December, the SGPC brought together historians who were best suited to study the film for accuracy. Gurcharan Singh Grewal, General Secretary, SGPC, told mid-day, “I have watched the film, and it doesn’t target anyone at all. It shows the truth of Punjab in an unadulterated fashion. It’s a heart-wrenching movie. When I watched it, I had tears in my eyes.”

Directed by Honey Trehan, Punjab 95 delves into the life of Khalra, who uncovered mass human rights violations during the s’90s, ultimately sacrificing his life for justice.

When midday contacted Navkiran Khalra, the daughter of Jaswant Singh, she said she was “thrilled” that the film will finally make its way to cinema halls. “It’s a story that needs to be told, and we’re grateful. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the film releases this time.”

Trehan’s woes commenced two years ago when the movie that was to have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival was pulled down after the makers refused to entertain the 25 cuts that were then demanded. It is after a long fight that the film is likely to test its fate at the box office with a February release, with Dosanjh confirming in an online comment that it will release without amends.

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) may be taking its time to clear director Honey Trehan’s Punjab ’95, but the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee’s (SGPC) support for the Jaswant Singh Khalra biopic is only getting stronger. In October, mid-day had reported that the SGPC was to form a review panel to assess the biopic, after the Prasoon Joshi-led CBFC handed out over 100 changes that included rechristening the film, renaming Khalra’s character and altering pivotal sequences (‘A panel of Sikh scholars will review the film’, Oct 19).

A 10-member committee watched the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer in Chandigarh,  in November. In the latest development, they have sent a letter to producer Ronnie Screwvala, reiterating that the film faithfully depicts the life and struggles of the human rights activist.

Trehan’s directorial venture retells the journey of Khalra, who investigated the extrajudicial killings of Sikh youths during the 1984–1995 insurgency in Punjab. In the letter, the review committee, comprising legal experts and Sikh scholars, has emphasized that revisiting the dark chapters of Punjab’s history is essential to honour the activist’s legacy. The letter underlines that the biopic, in its unaltered form, is a powerful tool to shed light on these human rights abuses and must not be diluted.

Gurcharan Singh Grewal, General Secretary, SGPC, tells mid-day, “A few days ago, we sent a letter to the producers to screen the film for [another set of] Sikh scholars. We will take the matter forward with the CBFC. I have watched the film and it doesn’t target anyone at all. It shows the truth of Punjab in an unadulterated fashion. It’s a heart-wrenching movie. When I watched it, I had tears in my eyes.”

The makers are now hopeful that the review panel’s endorsement will pave the way for an unedited release of the film that has been lying with the CBFC since 2022. The Akal Takht has also thrown its weight behind it.

Support for director Honey Trehan’s Punjab ’95, a biopic on human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, is rising. Last month, mid-day reported that the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) stood by the film that has been held up at the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for the past two years.

Now, the matter has caught the attention of the Akal Takht, considered the highest temporal authority of Sikhs. The body has instructed the SGPC to form a review board to examine the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer. This directive comes in response to the CBFC handing out nearly 120 changes, which range from rechristening the movie, to Khalra’s character being renamed (Cut, cut till you edit history? Sep 25).

The instruction to change Khalra’s name hasn’t gone down well with the Sikh community or the martyr’s family. In response, the Akal Takht and the SGPC are pushing back to ensure that the legacy of the activist—who had investigated the disappearance and extrajudicial killings of Sikh youths during the Punjab insurgency between 1984 and 1995—is honoured.

Gurcharan Singh Grewal, General Secretary, SGPC, told mid-day, “The Khalra family has voiced concerns that the CBFC’s cuts might dilute the film’s message by removing references to events verified by legal and human rights institutions. Such changes could obscure the film’s historical accuracy and impact. The Akal Takht’s Jathedar, Giani Raghbir Singh, has called for a panel of Sikh scholars to thoroughly review the film to ensure it aligns with the community’s sentiments and retains its integrity. Our agenda is to immediately consult Sikh scholars and ensure the film is examined from every angle before its release. We will fight for it to be released in its purest form. It’s crucial that the movie, in its original form, is released only after adequate efforts have been made to honour Khalra’s legacy.”

Grewal says that the committee, which is currently being formed, will also include legal experts and academics who are well-versed with the politics of that period. The viewing will be held in the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, Trehan and producer Ronnie Screwvala, who had objected to the CBFC’s almost 120 changes, are yet to hear back from the body about the film’s certification.

A source told us, “The makers are seeing some hope after the Akal Takht and SGPC have decided to watch the film. It has now reached a point that the makers are contemplating not making any cuts to the film at all, including the original 22 cuts suggested by the CBFC. If the Sikh bodies are comfortable with the film, the makers will fight for the release of the original version.”

Paramjit Kaur Khalra with her late husband’s portrait

On October 3, Paramjit Kaur Khalra, the widow of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, issued a statement condemning the Central Board of Film Certification’s (CBFC) demand of nearly 120 cuts in Punjab ’95. Lending her support to Honey Trehan’s directorial venture that “upheld the legacy of Shaheed Jaswant Singh Khalra,” she appealed to the Prasoon Joshi-led body to “not attempt to change proven facts depicted in the film”.

This came on the heels of mid-day breaking the story of how the CBFC has doled out more than 100 changes in Khalra’s biopic, which include renaming the protagonist and the film, dropping references to Tarn Taran and Punjab, and removing religious elements like the Gurbani (Cut, cut till you edit history? Sep 25).

mid-day contacted Paramjit, who expressed her disappointment that Punjab ’95—a biopic that sheds light on Khalra’s role in investigating the disappearance and killings of Sikh youths during the Punjab insurgency between 1984 and 1994—has been stuck with the censor board since December 2022. “I feel this is not a critical issue; it is being made one on purpose,” she said, speaking to us from the US. 

“There is no problem because the film is based on facts, and everything is in the public domain. The court’s hearing and decision were based on those facts. The film we have seen is the one we want people to see. If the film is not shown, it could cause public outrage. However, if the right version is released, it will benefit both the public and the governments creating this environment. This film is about standing by the truth and what is right. What happened in this story is something no one will dare to repeat in the future. Perhaps it will expose some people. This is the first time the public will see how Mr Khalra was captured and killed. The more you try to hide the truth, the more it will come out. So, this will benefit no one. Punjab understands Mr Khalra’s point, and the leaders do too. Hiding the truth is a systemic policy, but it’s just a Google search away.”

Punjab ’95 sees Diljit Dosanjh step into the shoes of Khalra, who had disappeared in September 1995. Ten years later, six Punjab police officials were convicted for his murder. Trehan’s film not only examines the dark chapter of Punjab, but also raises questions about the activist’s murder.

Khalra’s daughter Navkiran, who resides in the US, said that they were initially reluctant about a movie as they knew it would face severe opposition. “Anyone who is active in the civil rights and human rights struggle doesn’t have any faith that the Indian government or the higher-ups will allow the facts to be shown. We had this skepticism,” she recalled. It was Trehan’s methodical approach and determination that made her believe that her activist-father’s story would reach the audience.

“We watched the movie last year. He stayed true, word for word, to what he had committed to in the script. It was exciting that it was going to the Toronto International Film Festival [in 2023]. But all of a sudden, the censor board and the Bombay High Court case came in, and the movie had to be removed from the film festival. That was [heartbreaking]. Recently, the CBFC came back with 120 cuts and [the instruction of] changing the name. Then, it’s no more a biopic, right? It’s complete slaughter. Punjab is not allowed to show its version of the history that happened and that has been proven in the Supreme Court. Our lawyer, Mr Bains, gave Honey all the facts and court documents. Honey [studied] the news archives. All the incidents depicted in this movie are true. The only fictionalized part is the way of storytelling.”

Navkiran is clear that the family won’t accept the CBFC-recommended changes. “We want the film that was shown to us and the one that we agreed with Honey, to be shown to the public. YouTube already has these videos, documents and documentaries by other human rights activists. It’s also a bad precedent in terms of art, where [filmmakers] have to comply with the government that’s in power. If India is trying to become a superpower, it should set themselves against the US standards. We have seen movies made on Iraq after the Iraq war; they were critical of the US government.”

Director Trehan and producer Ronnie Screwvala were to meet the CBFC last month and discuss their reservations against the nearly 120 changes. But the CBFC has yet to meet the makers. A source revealed, “There is radio silence on the film. We have heard that a new Revising Officer will be assigned soon, but there is no official intimation.”

Trehan and Screwvala are said to be frustrated over the delay in receiving certification as they had hoped to release the film this year. They have a pending deal with an OTT platform after it releases theatrically.

With the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) coming down hard on Diljit Dosanjh-starrer Punjab ’95, there was bound to be pushback. Earlier this week, mid-day reported that the CBFC had doled out nearly 120 changes to the Honey Trehan-directed biopic on human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra (Cut, cut till you edit history? Sept. 25) Now, Gurcharan Singh Grewal, General Secretary of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), has expressed his support for the film.

Grewal has objected to the CBFC’s recommendations, which range from rechristening the film, to Khalra’s character being renamed. When mid-day reached out to Grewal, he was surprised that a film on Khalra—who had played a critical role in investigating the disappearance and killing of Sikh youths during the Punjab insurgency between 1984 and 1994—would have such a hard time with the censor board.

“The job of the CBFC, in my understanding, is to eliminate anything that questions the country’s unity, that attacks faith or [incites] violence. We stand with the film. Jaswant Singh Khalra was a people’s man. He was beyond party lines. What would they get from removing his name from a film based on his work? Why should the title be changed? This is a part of Punjab’s history.”

Grewal is keen to see the biopic without the cuts. He lamented, “After 120 cuts, what will remain of the film?”

To him, making changes to the biopic feels like an attempt to change Punjab’s history. “Khalra became a key figure after the anti-Sikh riots and subsequent atrocities, which led him to advocate for the rights of those affected by police brutality. His investigations revealed that police death squads were operating in secrecy, abducting individuals, torturing them, and then cremating their bodies without proper identification. In Amritsar alone, he identified over 2,000 Sikh men who were unaccounted for. I know of people, who have received compensation from the court, because of his work.”

Grewal also opposed the idea of art being a product of the country’s ruling party. “This film is important because it is about a people’s man. This is not The Kashmir Files [2022] or The Kerala Story [2023]. Did they suggest removing [Narendra] Modi ji’s name from his biopic or [Vinayak Damodar] Savarkar’s name from his biopic?”

One would think that 85 cuts is one too many for a film. But apparently not. Troubles continue for director Honey Trehan’s Punjab ’95, a biopic on human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra. In July, mid-day reported that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had not greenlit the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer even after suggesting 85 cuts (85 cuts not enough?, July 17).

Now, it has come to light that CBFC chairman Prasoon Joshi, along with the Revising Committee, watched the gritty drama last month and handed out a final round of changes. Sources tell us that the cuts have now sharply increased from 85 to nearly 120. Not just that, one of the pivotal asks is that Khalra’s character be renamed altogether. 

Additionally, the movie cannot be titled Punjab ’95, which is a reference to Khalra’s year of death. The activist had disappeared in September 1995, and 10 years later, six Punjab police officials were convicted for his murder.

A well-placed source from the film’s team reveals, “Per the CBFC’s suggestion, the film will now be called Sutlej, denoting the river that unites Punjab. There are a total of almost 120 changes! The most pivotal change is to not call the protagonist Jaswant Singh anymore. Honey and producer Ronnie Screwvala told CBFC that they won’t allow this change in a film that highlights Khalra’s role in investigating the disappearance and killing of Sikh youths during the Punjab insurgency between 1984 and 1994. Their point of argument was that Khalra is seen as a martyr by the Sikh community and removing his name will be disrespectful not just to him and his family, but to the entire community. Not to mention that it then won’t be a biopic anymore. The CBFC also stated that the movie cannot claim to be based on real-life incidents as they felt it would lead to ‘swaying of sentiments’.”

There is more in the list of changes. The source adds, “In a scene, there is a Gurbani that has been asked to be removed. They have also instructed that any mention of Punjab and the district of Tarn Taran be dropped. Moreover, display of the national flag and any reference to Canada or the UK has to be dropped altogether. If the makers agree to these changes, they will be handed the certificate before the week ends.” A final meeting is slated to take place today, where Trehan and Screwvala will appeal to the CBFC against some of the suggested modifications.

The movie — also starring Arjun Rampal and Suvinder Vicky — was first screened for the CBFC in 2022. Since then, Screwvala and Trehan have been trying their best to get it cleared. It had led to a court case, with Screwvala appealing against the Censor Board’s then-ask of 22 cuts.

“The makers had eventually decided to pursue an out-of-court settlement. In an earlier meeting, the Revising Committee asked them to alter a line in the film, where the protagonist remarks that over 25,000 people have been killed in Punjab. The Revising Committee stated that the number be reduced. But Honey and Ronnie had opposed it, noting that all the facts shown in the film were based on real-life testimonies and the CBI court’s judgment from the ’90s,” added the source.

The fate of Honey Trehan’s second directorial venture, Punjab '95, continues to hang in the balance. The film tells the story of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, who had attempted to uncover the disappearance and killing of Sikh youths during insurgency in Punjab between 1984 and 1994. We hear the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer was screened for the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on Sunday, and the examining committee handed it 85 cuts. The troubles don’t end there. Whispers suggest that despite the cuts, the CBFC has yet to greenlight its release.

An insider from the film’s team told mid-day, “In spite of agreeing to the suggested 85 cuts, the makers were told that the film remains a contentious subject, and whether it should be released in the current times is a question. A final decision has yet to be taken by the CBFC.”

This is not Punjab '95’s first run-in with the Censor Board. In December 2022, Trehan’s movie—titled Ghallughara then—was screened for certification. The process reportedly took six months, with the CBFC asking for 21 cuts and a change of title. Ronnie Screwvala’s production house had appealed against the decision in the Bombay High Court. As a result, the film, also starring Arjun Rampal and Suvinder Vicky, had to be pulled out from the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival’s line-up. 

Currently, even as the number of cuts has quadrupled from the Censor Board’s 2022 ask and uncertainty looms large over the movie’s release, a cast member says the makers are bullish about it reaching the audience.

The actor said, “The film might be butchered, but the team will ensure its release. Right now, we are fighting for its existence.” The person refused to divulge details about the team’s future course of action.

Another source said that the producer has been discouraged from releasing it, since it raises questions about Khalra’s death. The activist disappeared in September 1995, and 10 years later, six Punjab police officials were convicted for his murder.

The source said, “The producer has been requested to write off the film as a bad investment. CBFC won’t allow its release because it is considered to be a volatile subject. There are concerns that it shows cops in a poor light by reflecting Khalra’s custodial death, and that could lead to violence across the country. The material needs to be reimagined drastically for release.”

We texted Screwvala and Trehan, who didn’t respond till press time.

Where was this guy? What has he done in the past? — these are some of the questions that have been doing the rounds on social media, as the recently released crime thriller Kohrra continues to receive rave reviews. And with it, the star of the show, Suvinder Pal Vicky, is on cloud nine for finally being recognised for his talent.

“This show has gone viral. I am experiencing this for the first time in my life and my career,” exclaims the actor, who has been working in the industry for nearly two decades.

The 50-year-old goes on to reveal that some have even drawn comparisons between his acting skills and the late actor Irrfan’s unmatched versatility.

“That has been a dream come true moment. The thought that they compared me with him is a big thing for me. I have done nothing in front of him, so it is a huge honour. I have looked up to him and his work since theatre days,” shares the artiste.

In the past, Vicky has featured in projects such as Chauthi Koot (2015), Milestone (2020), Udta Punjab (2016), Kesari (2019) and the web show CAT (2022). He will next be seen in Punjab '95, which is set to be featured at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival this year.

“I’m so excited about it. Kehte hain bura waqt hamesha nahin rehta, and jab achcha hota hai toh sab achcha hota hai. Aaj wahi ho raha hai mere saath. After Kohrra, my next film is getting a global stage,” shares the actor, brimming with enthusiasm and hoping that his recent successes open doors to more opportunities in Bollywood and beyond.