Diljit Dosanjh's ‘Punjab 95' stuck in censor board limbo with 127 demanded cuts

The Hindu

3 days ago

More than two years after completion, Punjab 95, starring Diljit Dosanjh as human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, remains unreleased, trapped in a cycle of delays and censorship. Despite being privately screened at Cannes for a small group of Indian and international journalists, the film's official release date is still nowhere in sight.
Directed by Honey Trehan and produced by Ronnie Screwvala's RSVP Movies, the film was initially slated to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2023. But Indian authorities intervened, prompting the filmmakers to withdraw. Since then, Punjab 95 has faced an uphill battle with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), resulting in a staggering 127 demanded cuts.
'Shuru shuru mein maine mann maar ke 21 cuts kare, socha chalo picture nahi atkey (At first, I begrudgingly agreed to 21 cuts so that at least the release doesn't stall,)' Trehan told The Indian Express during a conversation in Cannes. 'They came back with more cuts. We made those too. Then more silence.'
The film traces the journey of Khalra, a bank manager who exposed mass disappearances and extra-judicial killings in Punjab during the militancy era. In 1995, Khalra was abducted and later found dead. Dosanjh plays the activist, and is supported by an ensemble cast that includes Arjun Rampal, Kanwaljeet, Suvinder Vicky, and Geetika Vidya Ohlyan.
Trehan says some of the CBFC's demands have been 'verbally non-negotiable,' including removing the name 'Khalra,' deleting visuals of the Indian flag, muting gurbani sounds, avoiding the term 'Punjab police,' changing names of locations, and renaming the film itself.
'What is left then?' Trehan asked. 'No reasons have been given formally. I am willing to cut anything if it's a court directive, but I am not being allowed to fight in court.'
Although the case reached the Bombay High Court in 2023, the producers were later told to withdraw it. Attempts to release the film overseas have also been shelved.
Now renamed Sutlej, Trehan says the film has incorporated all demanded changes. But he and Dosanjh are walking away. 'This is not my film, and I'm withdrawing my name from it. So is Diljit... He's been with me through and through,' Trehan said.