“You Think One Film Can Destroy Your Democracy?”:‘Satluj’ Director Honey Trehan On Censorship And The Streisand Effect

TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 10: Producer Honey Trehan attends the premiere of 'A Death In The Gunj' at the Toronto International Film Festival at The Elgin on September 10, 2016 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Ernesto Di Stefano Photography/Getty Images)

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EXCLUSIVE: When Honey Trehan got the call at around 8pm on July 5, he already knew something had gone wrong. His long beleaguered Diljit Dosanjh-starrer Satluj had been streaming on ZEE5 for just over 48 hours. At 9 pm, he was told, the movie would be taken off the platform.

"They [ZEE5] said they have to pull it off because of the pressure from the government," he tells me.

It is the first time he has stated on record what ZEE5 communicated directly about the reason for the removal. The platform's public statement cited only "current developments."

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"Over the period of three years I think the film has become way bigger than the film itself," says Trehan. "It has become more like an emotion."

What ‘Satluj’ Is About

Satluj is based on the life of Jaswant Singh Khalra, a Punjab-based human rights activist who in the early 1990s began documenting what he alleged were thousands of illegal cremations of individuals killed by Punjab Police during the state's militancy years.

Working from cremation records, Khalra identified what he said were approximately 25,000 cases of individuals cremated without notification to their families or adherence to legal procedure. He was abducted in September 1995 and subsequently killed.

His disappearance raised concerns about human rights abuses in India, including from Amnesty International in a 1998 report calling the situation a “mockery of justice”.

Six police officials were convicted in connection with his death, with convictions upheld by the Supreme Court of India in 2011.

What Honey Trehan Said About Satluj’s Censorship

The biopic’s journey to 48-odd hours of streaming was less than straightforward. When Satluj — then titled Ghallughara — was submitted to India’s Central Board of Film Certification as far back as late 2022. Six months later, the board requested 21 cuts and a title change to Punjab '95. Over the next few months, the number of requested cuts went up to 127. These reportedly included removing references to real locations such as Tarn Taran, altering references to Punjab Police, and deleting shots featuring the Indian flag.

“I gave 1800 pages book [to the revising committee], and I highlighted all the things what was objectionable for them,” says Trehan. “And then that gentleman, the head of the jury, he looked at me and he told me very categorically, Mr. Trehan speaks the truth so loudly in today’s time.”

The film was pulled from the Toronto International Film Festival lineup, with a source telling Variety there were “political forces at play”.

Trehan tells me that after meeting with authorities and official figures, he concluded that “this film does not serve their propaganda.”

What propaganda, and whose, I ask.

“This movie, it shows the people who were given extra powers, how they were misusing and they made the business out of it. But now those police officers might have an objection with the government, saying whatever we did, we did it on your instructions. Now when we are showing in a bad light, you have to block these kind of subjects and the front could be anything. This is my conclusion,” replies Trehan.

He pushes back on the idea that his film is one-sided, citing a scene where a senior cop tells Arjun Rampal’s character that outsiders don't understand what militancy-era police were up against.

“I’m not talking about the entire community. I’m only talking about my film again and again. There’s a dialogue from a few policemen, a few policemen. And I’m actually talking specifically about those policemen who have been sentenced to life imprisonment on abduction and killing of Mr. Jaswant Singh Khalra.”

The Modi-led Indian government has received mounting flack in recent years for sweeping cuts and bans, including 2025 International Film Festival of Kerala screenings of century-old classic Battleship Potemkin and a Spanish-Mexican film titled Beef, a musical drama about a teenager in Barcelona who seeks refuge in freestyle rap after her father’s death.

“Someone has also told me it’s a great film, but what is in it for us?” says Trehan. I ask him who the ‘us’ is, but he says he doesn’t want to name the people, only confirm that these conversations have happened.

After years stuck without a certificate and chance of a theatre release, ZEE5 uploaded the film on the evening of July 3 without any announcement or marketing; "if we had promoted it two days prior, it wouldn’t have been released at all," lead Diljit Dosanjh said in a subsequent livestream.

So far, the only official statement from the government has been from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, which told ANI that the release "violated the provisions of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules of 2021. There was no specifying of which provision exactly.

Satluj’s Streisand Effect In The Villages

Trehan has not heard of the Streisand Effect, he tells me. He is, however, living it.

The phenomenon is named after singer Barbra Streisand, about situations where attempts to suppress something cause it to spread further than it ever would have otherwise. Trehan recognizes the dynamic though.

"In the villages of Punjab," he says, "thousands of people, in the gurdwaras, screenings are happening." Projectors, large speakers, communities gathering to watch the film together — organised without instruction from the filmmakers. Diljit Dosanjh confirmed this in his own livestream, saying he had watched a video of a gurdwara screening that morning and felt satisfied the film had reached the people it was made for.

Pirated copies immediately began circulating on social media, and ZEE5 put out another statement asking people to refrain from piracy as they “remain committed to exploring every possible avenue to bring Satluj back.”

“Obviously we don’t support piracy and we should not,” says Trehan. “But then I think when the film becomes a revolution, then...”

The cross-party nature of the film’s support has been interesting. Harbhajan Singh, the cricketer and sitting BJP Rajya Sabha MP, publicly praised the film after viewing it. H.S. Phoolka, current BJP member and Supreme Court advocate who secured convictions against perpetrators of the 1984 anti-Sikh massacres, also voiced support. Vikramjit Singh Sahney, a sitting BJP Rajya Sabha representative of Punjab, similarly spoke in the film's defence.

The government, Trehan argues, has misjudged what banning the film would achieve. "You think one film can destroy your democracy? Like, come on, guys, you're in 2026. You're becoming a world leader. You're talking about the great democracy. What nonsense."

Who Satluj Director Honey Trehan Is

Born in India’s Madhya Pradesh, 47-year-old Trehan built his reputation over two decades as a casting director and creative collaborator. His casting credits span several acclaimed Indian films of the 2000s and 2010s: Vishal Bhardwaj's Shakespearean adaptations Maqbool (2003) and Omkara (2006), the Gulzar-directed thriller Talvar (2015), Abhishek Chaubey's Udta Punjab (2016), and the cult favourite Delhi Belly (2011).

He founded his own production company, MacGuffin Pictures, in 2015 with Abhishek Chaubey, and his own directorial debut came with neo-noir crime drama Raat Akeli Hai (2020), produced by Satluj producer Ronnie Screwvala. In the years waiting for Satluj to clear, Screwvala encouraged Trehan to direct another film, which led to a second Netflix original, Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders releasing in late 2025. Satluj is his third feature as director.

Satluj’s Multihyphenate Lead Diljit Dosanjh

Satluj stars singer, actor and multihyphenate Diljit Dosanjh. Four years ago, when this film was made, that name meant something slightly different than it does today.

Most recently, he broke his own North American touring record with the Aura tour. Dosanjh’s Dil-Luminati Tour concluded in 2024 as one of the highest-grossing tours ever by an Indian artist. In October 2024, he sold out three consecutive nights at London’s O2 Arena, becoming the venue’s highest-selling South Asian artist ever. His Aura World Tour’s September 12 Wembley Stadium date is sold out at 90,000 tickets — making him the first South Asian artist to headline the venue.

He debuted at the Met Gala in 2025. His April 2023 Coachella appearance made him the first Punjabi artist to perform at the festival. Most recently, he starred in Imtiaz Ali’s Main Vaapas Aaunga, which has earned over ₹91 crore ($9.5 million) worldwide so far.

At 42, he is at a point in his career where he could make almost any commercial choice and succeed. Spending four years standing behind Ghallughura, Punjab ‘95 and now Satluj, a film with little studio marketing, no theatrical release, and now no streaming availability in India, is not the most commercially safe decision, and Trehan knows it.

“He’s still — as we are talking — I’m getting a text from him,” he says. “This film wouldn’t have come out if Diljit and Ronnie [Screwvala, producer] won’t have been there. They are the pillars behind this film.”

Dosanjh has now become even more of a figurehead for the global Punjabi community. “For the newer generation, Diljit Dosanjh is the face of Jaswant Singh Khalra," says Trehan.

"Now Diljit will become beyond reach. He is becoming untouchable."

What A Happy Ending Looks Like For Satluj

The film still does not have a certificate. The actual victory, Trehan says, will come when the government allows it to be seen properly. "I request the central government: 31 years ago, central government helped and brought the justice to Jaswant Singh Khalra. I request the central governments — we need you once again."

Satluj is currently available on ZEE5 Global for international audiences outside India. It remains unavailable in India until further notice. ZEE5 and the CBFC did not respond to multiple requests for comment, and this article will be updated in case of reply.