Satluj (film)
2026 Indian film by Honey Trehan
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Satluj is a 2026 Indian biographical drama film directed by Honey Trehan and jointly produced by Ronnie Screwvala, Abhishek Chaubey and Trehan through RSVP Movies and MacGuffin Pictures respectively. The film is based on the life of the human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra.[3][4] Written by Trehan with Niren Bhatt and Utsav Maitra, the film stars Diljit Dosanjh alongside Arjun Rampal, Kanwaljit Singh, Suvinder Vicky and Geetika Vidya Ohlyan.[4][5] It follows Khalra's investigation into enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings carried out by Punjab Police during the Punjab insurgency of the early 1990s.[6][7]
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- Honey Trehan
- Niren Bhatt
- Utsav Maitra
Niren Bhatt
- Ronnie Screwvala
- Abhishek Chaubey
- Honey Trehan
| Satluj | |
|---|---|
Official release poster | |
| Directed by | Honey Trehan |
| Written by |
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| Dialogues by | Honey Trehan Niren Bhatt |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Narrated by | Arjun Rampal |
| Cinematography | K. U. Mohanan |
| Edited by | A. Sreekar Prasad |
| Music by | Marc Marder |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | ZEE5 |
Release date |
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Running time | 164 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Languages |
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| Budget | US$4.5 million[2] |
The film faced several obstacles in its release, originally being titled 'Ghallughara', (and even subsequently 'Punjab 95') with its release planned in 2023. The Central Board of Film Certification ordered many alterations to allow it a certificate, making the filmmakers chose not to release it in theatres instead. Its release was stalled for 3 years, before being digitally released on ZEE5 on 3 July 2026. It received positive reviews from audience and the critics.[8][9][10] The film was taken down from ZEE5 around 2 days later for Indian viewers.[11] Later, the film was also removed from ZEE5 for international viewers.[12]
Plot
The film begins with a group of policemen of the Punjab Police stopping a car and killing all the people present and the car. Later they dispose off their bodies under a river.
Jaswant Singh Khalra, a bank employee in Amritsar lives happily with his wife along with his two children. After the disappearance and death of his friend Kirpal Singh, he finds that his mother Gurpej became mentally unstable. One day, Gurpej aunty became missing and Jaswant started to find her. He visits the local police station , but the police officers didn't help him and dismissed the case. Jaswant later visits a hospital to see if Gurpej aunty was admitted or not. But he finds that she was not admitted there.
Jaswant visits the morgue of the hospital to see if Gurpej aunty was there or not. On showing the photo of Gurpej aunty, the doctor was about to tell him about her just when a compounder and a constable arrives which resulted in Jaswant not getting the details of Gurpej. Upon enquiring with the constable named Satnam, he reveals that Gurpej aunty was brutally murdered by the corrupt police officers and her body was thrown into a river from the bridge. Jaswant later finds from a local crematorium that people who were murdered and went missing were burned without their identity. Upon hearing this, Jaswant decides to fight for justice along with his friend and constable Satnam Singh.
Meanwhile, the murders continue and Jaswant travels to Canada and other countries to unite the Sikh community about the gruesome murders in Punjab. On the other hand, the Chief Minister of Punjab and highly ranked police officers faces pressure from the media regarding the murders. To cover up the incident, the police officers falsely accused the murdered people of illegal weapon trafficking to ease their pressure.
Jaswant collects missing persons information from a few crematorium and shares with different human rights international forum which ultimately creates immense pressure on the police. DGP Bitta brings in SSP Sugga to pressurize Jaswant to withdraw his proceedings. SSP Sugga kills constable Satnam along with family for leaking information to Jaswant. Further to stop Jaswant Singh proceedings the police kidnap Jaswant from his house. Samudra Singh, Additional Director, CBI is assigned the missing case of Jaswant. Samudra starts interrogation and finds out police officials are responsible for missing case of Jaswant. DGP Bitta retires and the new DGP gives Sugga an ultimatum to find Jaswant. In the meantime, prior to their appearance in the court, the witnesses collected by Samudra Singh are either pressured to turn hostile or killed. The court suspends all the police officers along with Sugga. Sugga unable to bear the pressure commits suicide. Eventually SPO Kuljit Singh who was part of police team involved in judicial killings, testifies in court about how Jaswant was tortured and finally killed by Sugga. Jaswant Singh's dead body is shred and disposed off in the river in the same way like other missing persons.
Cast
- Diljit Dosanjh as Jaswant Singh Khalra
- Arjun Rampal as Samudra Singh, Additional Director, CBI
- Kanwaljit Singh as DGP Inderpal Singh Bitta (based on KPS Gill)
- Suvinder Vicky as SSP Surjit Singh Sugga (based on Ajit Singh Sandhu)
- Geetika Vidya Ohlyan as Paramjit Kaur Khalra "Pammi"
- S. M. Zaheer as CM Anant Singh (based on Beant Singh)
- Saurabh Sachdeva as Senior Constable Satnam Singh
- Amit Dhawan as DSP Jagpal Singh
- Varun Badola as Advocate Ravinder Jais (based on Adv. Rajvinder Singh Bains)
- Arvinder Singh Gill as CM Gurcharan Singh Bohra (based on Harcharan Singh Brar)
- Nassar as DGP S. P. Varma
- Rahul Mittra as Inspector J Randhava
- Jyoti Dogra as Bibi Gurpej Kaur Bannowal
- Bhupender Singh as Kirpal Singh Bannowal
- Amardeep Jha as Satnam Singh's mother
- Jagjeet Sandhu as SPO[a] Kuljit Singh (based on SPO Kuldeep Singh Bachra, an eye witness)
- Vansh Bhardwaj as Inspector Shivender Singh
- Vikas Mohla as SI Harinder Singh
- Akhilesh Dwivedi as SI Tejinder Singh
- Ramji Bali as Inspector Ajay Kumar
- Milind Dhaimade as CBI Chief Bhullar
- Anurag Arora as Government Official
- Amardeep Gill as MLA Mahinderpal Singh
- Anil Mange as Sanjiv Singh (based on Rajiv Singh Randhawa, an eye witness)
- Anjuman Saxena as High Court Judge
- Geeta Agarwal Sharma as Geeta Basra, a Medical Officer, related to the mortuary-related incidents (loosely based on the nurse, Baljeet Kaur, of Patti area)
- Corinne Meadors as Colleen Beaumier
Production
Development
In 2020, Honey Trehan began his research for the film, eventually compiling about 1800 pages of research, including witness statements and court testimony.[13][14][15]
Trehan and Utsav Maitra (who also served as the associate director of the film) had completed co-writing two drafts by the time, co-writer Niren Bhatt came on-board.[16]: 9:55
Trehan and Bhatt later developed the script for a year, which included travelling for a month across various districts in Punjab.[17]
Casting
Diljit Dosanjh chose to forgo his remuneration for the project, to portray Jaswant Singh Khalra, charging a symbolic ₹1 to fulfil contractual formalities.[18][19]
Filming
Principal photography began in 2021 and the filming wrapped up in 2022.[17][14]
Post-production
The film was initially titled as Ghallughara, which means historical massacre of Sikhs. In December 2022, the film was stuck in a six month long certification process, with the CBFC demanding 21 cuts and a title change. Later, the production house challenged the decision in Bombay High Court.[20] After intervention of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the film was decided to be released uncut, but with its new title Punjab '95, after objections were raised by CBFC on the previous title.[21][22] Later, the revising committee of CBFC reviewed the film and demanded more than 120 cuts.[23] The official trailer was removed from YouTube in India, a day after its release.[24] An uncut international release was announced for 7 February 2025, in multiple countries, excluding India. However, the release was postponed once again for undisclosed reasons.[25][26] Trehan and Dosanjh said they would not release a version of the film altered to meet the board's demands.[27][28]
Soundtrack
| Satluj | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Marc Marder | ||||
| Released | 13 July 2026 | |||
| Length | 9:20 | |||
| Language | Punjabi | |||
| Label | Sangeet Music | |||
| Marc Marder chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Official audio | ||||
| Satluj – Full Album on YouTube | ||||
All music is composed by Marc Marder.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Gurmukh Laha Lei Gaye" (Tabla: Gurinder Pal Singh Rabab: Mahabir Singh Rana, Sandeep Singh) | Traditional Gurbani Shabad | Bhai Harjinder Singh Srinagar Wale Side accompanist: Jaspreet Singh | 6:29 |
| 2. | "Satnam Shri Waheguru" | Traditional Gurbani Shabad | Gyani Balwinder Singh, Gyani Kuljeet Singh | 1:29 |
| 3. | "Sir Dijae Kaan Na Kijae" | Traditional Gurbani Shabad | Gyani Balwinder Singh, Gyani Kuljeet Singh, Bibi Amrit Kaur | 1:22 |
| Total length: | 9:20 | |||
Release
In 2023, the film was scheduled to have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) but was removed from the line-up at the last moment.[29]
In 2025, Trehan held private screenings of the film, then titled Punjab '95, including at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and in Bengaluru.[30][31]
The makers alleged that later on they were being prevented from holding private screenings too.[32]
“Around three months back, I was called by the people in power to stop the [private] screening,” Trehan said to the New Lines Magazine. He further added, “They also put pressure on those with private studios to not play ‘Panjab ’95.’”[33]
Finally after multiple delays, the film's uncut version under a new title Satluj was released digitally on ZEE5 on 3 July 2026.[4][34] However, two days after the release, the film was pulled from ZEE5 India until further notice.[35][36] On 11 July 2026, the film was also removed from ZEE5 international.[37]
A day after the release of the film, Dosanjh had already anticipated that the film might get taken down from ZEE5. Answering a question whether Satluj would get taken down from ZEE5 from a fan during an Instagram live session, he had said:
“It can happen. There’s that fear. Today is Saturday. It could be pulled down by Monday. But let’s worry not. You can download the film till now. Those who want to stop the film can do that. Those who want to take panga can do that. There’s no tension.”[38]
In an interview with The Free Press Journal, Kanwaljit Singh, who portrayed the character of DGP Inderpal Singh Bitta in Satluj, criticised the taking down of the film from ZEE5 as a violation of free speech, saying:
"I spoke to Honey after the film was taken down, and he said they shall be taking the matter to court. But what I don't understand is why they had to take it off. Even people who weren't going to watch it will want to watch it now. It has also been downloaded by so many people, so even though lots of people will be watching it, the producers will lose out. But I want to ask, what is this freedom of speech? Tell me, I really want to know. That right is being strangled."[39]
Reception
Audience viewership
Satluj garnered 6.58 million views on ZEE5 in India within the 48 hours it was online, until its takedown from the OTT platform.[40]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 10 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.8/10.[41]
Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave 4 stars out of 5 and said that "Satluj is a powerful political film that pulls no punches, It is unmissable. Its title may have changed, its power hasn't diminished one bit".[42] Shubhra Gupta writing for The Indian Express rated it 3.5 stars out of 5 and writes that "But there’s nothing generic about the film. It is a powerful, moving account of a lone man holding up a candle to dispel darkness. Take a bow, Honey Trehan, and Team Satluj; this is a clear win for filmmakers who want to tell the story of an actual person, time and place, with unwavering conviction."[43]
Reviewing the film for Scroll.in, Nandini Ramnath called it a harrowing and heart-rending account of unchecked state power, praising Dosanjh's understated performance and the ensemble cast, including Ohlyan, Vicky and Rampal. She wrote that the film's insistence on Khalra's religious motivations understates the leftist political tradition the real Khalra came from, and that its 163-minute runtime includes some indulgent stretches, but called it one of the sharpest political films in recent memory.[5]
Debanjan Dhar of Outlook rated the film 4/5 stars and called it one of the year's most essential films and praised Dosanjh and Suvinder Vicky's performances, describing Vicky's character as a chilling study in institutional cruelty.[44]
Writing in India TV News, the critic praised the muted cinematography and restrained score but found the editing loose in places, arguing that trimming around fifteen minutes would have tightened the film, and gave it 3.5/5 stars.[10]
Bhumi Vashisht of Sunday Guardian Live called it a fearless docu-drama and praised Dosanjh's performance as a departure from his earlier screen persona.[45]
Giving the film 3/5 stars, Troy Ribeiro of Free Press Journal called it a sincere and necessary work with a clear moral spine, praising Dosanjh's understated lead performance and Arjun Rampal and Kanwaljit Singh's supporting turns, and noted that the film favours atmosphere over spectacle.[46]
Shilajit Mitra of The Hollywood Reporter India stated that it Hearty and Harrowing and The Finest Indian Films of The Year.[47] Critc of Bollywood Hungama rated it 3.5/5 stars and state d that "SATLUJ brings a deeply disturbing true story to the screen with remarkable sensitivity and is powered by marvellous performances from Diljit Dosanjh, Arjun Rampal and Suvinder Vicky."[48]
Neeshita Nyayapati reviewing for Hindustan Times gave 4 stars out of 5 and said that "Satluj might seem like the story of just one person, one region, and the horrific acts that occurred during a single period. But beneath the tension-filled and heartbreaking tale lies the answer to whether one person could ever bring about social change. More than just a sharp political film, Satluj is a reminder that a lamp can vanquish darkness, a relevant message for today's world."[49] Anuj Kumar of The Hindu writes in his review that "Diljit Dosanjh shines as a solitary lamp whose conviction outlasts the darkest night in this moving tribute to social activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, where director Honey Trehan examines the rhetoric around the dehumanisation of citizens."[50]
Devesh Sharma of Filmfare rated it 4/5 stars and said that "Satluj is not conventional entertainment, nor does it aspire to be. It is a film that educates, disturbs and moves in equal measure. It honours the memory of a man who chose truth over safety and conscience over silence. At a time when meaningful cinema often struggles to find space, films like this become all the more valuable."[51]
Agnivo Niyogi of The Telegraph (India) appreciated the performances of Diljit Dosanjh, the supporting cast (Geetika Vidya Ohlyan, Saurabh Sachdeva, Suvinder Vicky, Kanwaljit Singh and Arjun Rampal), K.U. Mohanan’s cinematography, Sreekar Prasad’s editing and filmmaker, Honey Trehan. For the latter, he wrote, "Trehan refuses to reduce systemic abuse to isolated incidents or a handful of villains. Instead, he patiently shows how institutions can normalise extraordinary violence when accountability disappears."[52] British academic, writer and human rights advocate William Gomes published two critical essays on Satluj in Modern Ghana. He argued that the film subjects Jaswant Singh Khalra to a symbolic “second killing” by depicting his death while omitting important aspects of his Sikh political identity, including his association with the Khalistan movement. Gomes also criticised the film for replacing allegations of a state-funded police bounty system and senior official responsibility with a narrative centred on individual corruption and extortion.[53][54]
Impact
Owing to the takedown of Satluj from ZEE5 for Indian viewers, multiple pirated copies began circulating over platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, X (formerly known as Twitter) and YouTube.[55]
Community screenings of Satluj were organised by the Sikh organisations, local activists and residents across India, particularly at community spaces like the gurudwaras, using the copies circulating online, leading to, as Forbes contributor, Hannah Abraham, called, the Streisand effect.[56][57][58][59]
A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in Punjab and Haryana High Court on 9 July 2026, seeking the restoration of Satluj on ZEE5, questioning the abrupt removal of the film from the OTT platform and raising concerns over free speech and due process.[60]
“The abrupt removal of the film, without disclosure of any statutory order, judicial direction or lawful authority, has not only curtailed the fundamental right of the public to receive information and artistic expression under Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution of India but has also deprived thousands of bona-fide subscribers of access to content for which they had already paid consideration,” the petition stated.[61]
On 10 July 2026, 50 journalists and film critics signed a joint statement addressed to Mr Ashwini Vaishnaw, India's incumbent Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), condemning the removal of Satluj from ZEE5, calling it an 'executive overreach' and a 'continuing erosion of due process.'[62][63]
See also
Notes
- Special Police Officer
