Satluj, the period-political thriller starring Diljit Dosanjh, which was previously titled Panjab 95 and quietly had a premiere on ZEE5 in July after struggling with censor board for many years, created quite an uproar with an arrival. However, the film was taken down from the platform after directives from the Indian government. Now, nearly a month after the film’s OTT premiere and takedown, filmmaker Honey Trehan wrote a long note, sharing how people of Punjab all over have been supporting the producers from their end.
Taking to his Instagram page, Honey wrote, “We got the opportunity to remember and honour the life of Martyr Bhai Jaswant singh Khalra ji. Since then we have been getting several messages, calls, Instagram DMs and tweets from people trying to reach out to us, the Khalra family and Diljit bhaji, to extend their support and help us with money to recover our losses. We even got to know there are gullaks kept in Gurudwaras where well-wishers are trying to help my producers to recover the losses of 'Satluj. This is happening in India as well as abroad. We thank you deeply for this gesture.”
At the same time, the filmmaker clarified that they would not be accepting any gift or donations, adding, “My team and my producers (RSVP) have been gracious enough to accept this film in their legacy despite their losses. Please consider this film as our small service towards the truth, towards human rights and the opportunity to remember the martyrdom of Khalra Sahab. It is a small attempt at sharing the collective grief of our loved ones and for the ones who we lost in the darkness irrespective of their caste, religion or social status.” Honey also clarified that any money collected by anyone in the name of the film is not official, and has nothing to do with team 'Satluj".
The filmmaker instead requested all the fans and followers to ‘help each other with kindness and courage and love so we all can come together to 'challenge the darkness' when it matters.’
Also starring Arjun Rampal and Suvinder Vicky in key roles, Satluj was based on the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra who shed light on Punjab police's extra-judicial killing of about 25,000 people at the time of insurgency in the state.
