Days after being taken down in India, Satluj (previously titled Punjab 95) has now also disappeared from ZEE5’s international library. The Diljit Dosanjh-starrer, which finally premiered on the streaming platform last Friday after nearly four years of censorship-related delays, was removed in India less than 48 hours later on government directions. It had remained available overseas until now.
When SCREEN reached out to director Honey Trehan about the development, he confirmed the removal and simply said, “Yes.” The film’s removal from ZEE5 internationally has sparked fresh discussion across social media. On X, one user flagged the development, writing, “So it’s been removed internationally as well.”
So it’s been removed internationally as well…
— Namrata Joshi (@Namrata_Joshi) July 11, 2026
Reddit users also noticed that the film was no longer available outside India. One post read, “Satluj has now been removed from Zee5 internationally as well. As the title says, Satluj is no longer available on Zee5 outside of India.”
The user added “Edit: I know it is available via other platforms/methods. The post is meant to highlight the fact that efforts to censor and remove the film are still ongoing. They didn’t stop at just removing the film within India, but instead have continued to apply pressure until the film was removed in international markets as well.”
The development also prompted discussion among users in the comments section. One user wrote, “They’re making it more popular by banning it everywhere. I have non-Punjabi friends who only heard about it after the ban and are watching it as a result.”
Another commented, “Just checked yes, it’s not available anymore. The movie is out already, they can’t stop it. people have been sending it to each other already. someone put it on YouTube. But I feel bad for the sincere effort of the filmmakers, they deserved to earn a dime out of it.”
Satluj has now been removed from Zee5 internationally as well.
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Why was Satluj taken down?
On last Sunday evening, less than 48 hours after the film’s release, ZEE5 removed Satluj from its platform and issued a brief statement. “In light of the current developments, Satluj will be unavailable in India until further notice. We remain committed to exploring every appropriate avenue through due process to bring the film back to our audiences at the earliest opportunity.” Following the takedown, pirated versions of the film quickly surfaced online.
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After the film’s removal, SCREEN reached out to co-producer Ronnie Screwvala’s RSVP Movies. An official spokesperson confirmed, “The government has pulled it down,” while expressing hope that the film would return to streaming “hopefully soon.”
According to PTI, a government official said the makers had originally submitted the film to the CBFC in 2022 under the title Punjab 95 but did not agree to the board’s proposed 127 cuts. The official said the makers later released the film directly on OTT under a new title without obtaining CBFC certification.
“They kept sitting on the suggested cuts and eventually released the movie quietly on OTT with a new title. OTT does not come under the CBFC’s jurisdiction. When the matter came to the government’s notice, Zee was asked to take it (the film) down. The direction was given due to security concerns. The OTT platform was asked to follow the obligations under intermediary guidelines. If they want to release the film in theatres and OTT, they should follow the laid down norms.”
Honey Trehan: ‘I genuinely don’t know who had a problem’
Before ZEE5 pulled the film from its platform, director Honey Trehan had thanked both the platform and producers for standing by the project while admitting that he still did not know who had opposed the film all these years. “If somebody asks me who had a problem with the film, I genuinely don’t know. I don’t have a face. I don’t have a name. Everything came through third persons or lawyers,” he told Mid-Day.
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About Satluj
Satluj revisits one of Punjab’s darkest periods, exploring the disappearances, alleged extrajudicial killings and illegal detentions linked to the state’s counter-insurgency operations against Khalistani militancy during the 1980s and 1990s. The film follows the life and work of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, whose investigations exposed the alleged illegal cremation of unidentified bodies before his own disappearance. Alongside Diljit Dosanjh, the film also stars Arjun Rampal, Suvinder Vicky and Geetika Vidya Ohlyan.
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