The film has had an unusually long and difficult journey to release.
It was originally titled, external Ghallughara, a Punjabi term associated with some of the darkest episodes in Sikh history.
It refers to the mass killings of Sikhs by Mughal forces in 1746 and by the forces of Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1762.
Director Honey Trehan has said India’s Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), the government body that certifies films for public exhibition in cinemas, asked the filmmakers to change the title during the certification process but did not explain its reasons publicly.
The film was later retitled Punjab ’95 – a reference to the year Khalra disappeared.
The film was due to premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, but the producers withdrew it , externalwhile certification issues in India remained unresolved. The festival did not publicly link the withdrawal to the certification dispute.
The dispute centred on a long list of changes sought by the CBFC. Trehan told, external the news website Scroll in 2025 that the board’s objections initially numbered 21 but eventually grew to 127 proposed cuts.
“Anything that was a reference to reality was to be removed,” he said, arguing that the changes would have fundamentally alter the film.
Trehan told, external New Lines Magazine last year that after several rounds of review, the CBFC sought changes including a new title, the removal of references to Khalra and edits to scenes depicting police violence.
He said the board also challenged some of the film’s factual claims and warned it could trigger law-and-order problems in Punjab.
The filmmakers challenged the CBFC’s demands in the Bombay High Court but later withdrew, external their petition, opting to accept the board’s changes in the hope of securing certification, The Hindu newspaper reported. Trehan later said the list of requested cuts and changes kept growing despite efforts to resolve the dispute.
The CBFC has not publicly commented on his account. The BBC has sought comments from the board.
These unresolved issues led to the project remaining in limbo for nearly three years.
Last week, however, the makers announced that the film would bypass a theatrical release and instead premiere directly on ZEE5 under a new title, Satluj.
On the day Satluj landed on ZEE5, Trehan said the film had been released “without any cuts or compromises”, external in the form originally intended by the filmmakers, although they had been unable to retain the title Punjab ’95.
Films released in cinemas in India must be certified by the CBFC under the Cinematograph Act, but those released directly on streaming platforms do not require its approval.
Instead, streaming platforms like ZEE5 are governed by the Information Technology Rules, 2021, which mandate age ratings, a code of ethics and a grievance mechanism, but do not exempt them from takedown orders under Indian law.
After the film’s removal from the streaming platform for Indian audiences, Trehan told The Indian Express newspaper, “I am at a loss right now. I don’t know how to react to this development.”
Meanwhile, ZEE5 has said it stood by the film and the “creative vision behind it” and “hoped to bring it back soon”, without sharing any deadline.
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