‘Don’t do to Satluj what has been done to Jaswant Kalra’: Ram Gopal Verma urges release of Diljit Dosanjh film | Mint
‘Don’t do to Satluj what has been done to Jaswant Kalra’: Ram Gopal Verma urges release of Diljit Dosanjh film
Satluj, starring Diljit Dosanjh, removed from Zee5 in India sortly after release. It is based on the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra from Punjab
Removal of Diljit Dosanjh’s film Satlujfrom OTT has sparked a controversy, with a section of people appealing for a re-release in India. Joining them is filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, who took to X and shared a detailed review of Satluj, praising the film team and Dosanjh
Ram Gopal Varma reviews Satluj
Ram Gopal Varma described Satluj as more than just a film, adding, “Just saw SATLUJ and it is not a film, but a deep wound that will never heal. It stirs up the sludge in one of the darkest chapters of our history. This is cinema used as confrontation, where @diljitdosanjh acts with a quiet fury with no chest thumping heroism.. His only weapons are a ledger and a conscience. @rampalarjun adds layers of moral rot in the institutional complicity that feels chillingly realistic.”
Varma praised the director Honey Trehan for not sensationalising the sensitive topic of the film. “Director @honeytrehan instead of sensationalising the horror unfolds the film like a slow burn investigative thriller through bureaucratic files, cremation records, and hushed conversations. This restraint makes the brutality of the subject matter hit that much harder because it explodes with the force of truth and not exploitation.”
“Satluj isn’t preachy, makes the powerful uncomfortable”
RGV said that Satluj comes “without any preachiness and that’s no normal achievement.” He believed that the controversies surrounding the film’s release and screening validate its importance
“The various issues surrounding its exhibition and publication prove that any art which makes the powerful uncomfortable has done its job, and that is the true purpose of true art, which SATLUJ is.”
“It is highly courageous essential filmmaking because it unsettles, educates, and lingers. In the times where main stream chases spectacle and popcorn cinema, SUTLEJ shoots out a hard reminder of what cinematic medium can truly achieve when it takes on truth and honesty,” he added
Also Read|Diljit Dosanjh’s Satluj removed from OTT: Netizens compare with Dhurandhar, TKF
RGV wants Satluj to release
He further urged authorities to release Satluj in India after its abrupt removal
“SATLUJ is a film that has to be seen, shown, discussed, debated and not ENCOUNTERED like the victims in the film. My appeal to all the powers is, please don’t do to SATLUJ what has been done to JASWANT SINGH KALRA.”
Satluj, headlined by Diljit Dosanjh, is based on the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra from Punjab, who allegedly exposed illegal killings and secret cremations that reportedly took place during the late 1980s and early 1990s in Punjab. Khalra was reportedly disappeared’ in 1995, and his body was found near the Harike Bridge on the Sutlej River, as per a report by ANI
Also Read|Why was Diljit Dosanjh’s Satluj removed? Centre cites security concerns
Kalra was allegedly kidnapped, tortured and killed
The Supreme Court in 1996 ordered a CBI probe in the case on a petition filed by Khalra’s widow. The CBI found evidence that he was held at a police station in Tarn Taran and recommended the prosecution of nine Punjab police officials for his murder and kidnapping
A Patiala court in 2005 convicted six policemen. In 2007, the Punjab and Haryana High Court extended life imprisonment to four of the accused
The verdict was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2011
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Sneha Biswas specialises in covering entertainment and pop culture, with a specialisation on Bollywood, Hollywood, OTT platforms, K-pop, K-dramas, and major developments in the US entertainment industry. She believes in telling stories that balance speed with substance, and in making entertainment journalism contextual, culturally aware, and reader-first rather than purely reactive.<br><br>
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