A player Diljit Dosanjh Satluj accepted immediately after reading the first draft of the script, the director Honey Trehan he has revealed. In a recent interview, Trehan said Dosanjh, who plays human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra in the film, stood by the project and his story from the beginning. The comment has also started that Satluj has been removed from ZEE5 within 48 hours of his surprise release.
Honey Trehan remembers Diljit Dosanjh’s immediate reaction to the script
In an interview with Mid Day, Trehan explained how Dosanjh responded strongly to the topic even before he was asked about the film. Speaking to Mid-Day, the director said:“Even before I told him that I wanted to make a film on Jaswant Singh Khalra, he immediately said, ‘There is only one story from Punjab worth making if not 1984.’ I showed him my research paper. He looked at Mr. Khalra’s picture, took the book, placed it on his forehead, and said, ‘Waheguru ji… You will find me there.’
Diljit Dosanjh remained patient during the tough shooting days
Trehan also spoke about Dosanjh’s behavior on set, especially on days with delays and editing. He said to Mid-day:“There were days when he reported at 6 in the morning and I couldn’t do the first shot until 4 in the evening because the schedule was so tight. I kept apologizing. He always told me, ‘Paaji, no problem. Whatever you are doing, you are doing the film. I am here to support the film.’Dosanjh has continued to talk about the film, its true story, and what the story stands for, even as the controversy surrounding its release grows.
Why was Satluj removed from OTT?
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in a statement to news agency ANI that Satluj did not comply with the IT Act, 2021, and was therefore asked to be removed from ZEE5. In particular, a film or show does not require a censor board license to be released on an OTT platform in India; however, the ministry hopes to self-regulate and follow the rules under the IT Rules, 2021.The film also stars Arjun RampalKanwaljit Singh, Suvinder Vicky and Geetika Vidya Ohlyan in the lead roles, and had a journey of three years before reaching the stage.
More about ‘Satluj’
‘Satluj’ was originally titled ‘Panjab’95’ and follows the true story of Jaswant Singh Khalra. The story is set in the 1980s and 1990s, a difficult period in Punjab’s history marked by violent insurgencies, demands for a separate state (Khalistan), and the state’s anti-terrorist operations. Khalra pioneered an independent investigation that exposed the illegal abduction and secret cremation of thousands of “unknown” youths by local police, which took place without informing their families. In 1995, shortly after taking his testimony to the world record, Khalra himself was captured and executed.