Five Gurudwaras across India to screen Satluj after being taken down from streaming platforms

Despite being taken down from OTT paltforms, Diljit Dosanjh’s Satluj gets another chance to uncover one of the darkest chapters of Punjab’s militancy years through the story of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, who exposed the grim arithmetic of disappearances.

The biographical drama will be screened at gurudwara across five states. As per sources, the initiative aims to ensure that the story of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra continues to be seen despite the film no longer being available on the streaming platform. Gurudwaras in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Jammu will host special screenings of the Honey Trehan directorial in the coming days. An insider from Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) said gurudwara committees across the country have joined hands to organise community screenings of the film.

Between 10-13 July, Honey Tehran directorial will be screened at four gurudwaras. In Rajasthan, a social media post announced a public screening on July 11 at the Baba Fateh Singh Auditorium in Chandi Ki Taksal Gurudwara, Jaipur.

In the national capital , Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Harmeet Singh Kalka stood in support and called for lifting the ban. A SGPC source told the as quoted by a media house said, “The community doesn’t want this story to disappear simply because the film is unavailable online. If people cannot watch it on OTT, gurudwaras are opening their doors. Jaswant Singh Khalra’s story deserves to be seen”.

Set in 1995, what begins as a personal battle for Jaswant Kalra who searches Bibi Gurpesh Kaur, the missing mother of his friend Kirpal Singh, gradually expands into a devastating inquiry into unmarked cremations, official denial and the machinery of fear. Satluj has its motive clear. It undermines the fact that violence is enacted not only through bullets and batons, but also through paperwork, silence and the bureaucratic talent for making the unbearable look routine.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu called Diljit Dosanjh an “impostor” while addressing the controversy over Satluj’s OTT removal. He claimed that the government does not control streaming platforms and denied allegations that the Centre was behind the film being removed from ZEE5. Speaking in Ludhiana, Bittu questioned why the film was allowed to stream initially if authorities wanted it removed.