‘Satluj/Panjab 95’ – My film is a balm, says director Honey Trehan… 

🎥 Award-winning Indian film director Honey Trehan talks exclusively to us about his controversial film, ‘Satluj/Panjab 95′, while in London 

🎥 Receives award for ‘Satluj’ from UK TV channel in London

🎥 Film was pulled from Indian digital streamer ZEE 5 in the summer and was the subject of legal wrangles about it getting a cinema release in India

🎥 Production is a biopic of rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra who asked questions about ‘missing people’ in Indian state of Punjab and was later murdered himself – 25,000 is the main figure quoted – but is disputed in some circles as being exaggerated
 
🎥 State was riven by violence and brutality in 1980s and 1990s as local police fought insurgency movement looking to carve a new nation state

🎥 Biopic starts with Khalra, who worked at a bank, trying to find out what happened to a family friend who had just disappeared without trace  

🎥 Trehan is resigned to situation but hopes people understand that the film is a testament to Khalra’s courage and bravery, nothing else

🎥 He has new slate of projects, including a biopic on a famous 20th century Punjabi poet and international work which he is considering, alongside an expected deal for a work that already has international appeal but which he cannot talk about yet…

🎥 Director tells acv, superstar actor and singer Diljit Dosanjh is ready to make a new film with him. Dosanjh plays Khalra, and recently became the first ever Punjabi artist to play at Wembley Stadium

PASSION and conviction are great qualities in any film director and combine that with talent and cinematic flair and you have Honey Trehan. 

His most recent film almost needs no introduction to anyone who follows the Indian film industry – his ‘Satluj/Panjab 95’ (he prefers using the ‘a’ in Punjab) is a powerful biopic on human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra. 

Played by one of the biggest stars in India – Diljit Dosanjh, the film was pulled this summer, from its Indian streaming hosts, Zee 5, after just two and half days.  

Previously, India’s Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) – requested 127 cuts from the original to be made – if the film was to be screened in theatres in the country. 

In September 2023, Toronto International Film Festival selected ‘Satluj/Punjab 95’ to be screened there as a world premiere – but the producers pulled it when it became clear that others were uncomfortable with the film and its subject matter of extra-judicial ‘disappearances’.  

Khalra himself was murdered in 1995 and several people were convicted but a sense of injustice continues to linger and it is this that draws Trehan back to the subject. 

Trehan compares Khalra to Bhagat Singh (1907-31), a much celebrated freedom fighter who was hanged by the British for agitating for Independence.
 
“I don’t feel his (Khalra’s) matrydom is any less than Bhagat Singh’s,” Trehan told www.asianculturevulture.com in London, shortly after winning the BritAsia Award for Best OTT Film of The Year on October 23.  

“Singh was a single guy – Kalra had a wife and two children – one, seven, and one, four and when they are sleeping next to you – you really need a heart to stand by your conviction to fight for the people who have no connection to you.” 

The film is very watchable, absorbing and tense. In short, it is a brilliant production, anchored by a towering performance by Dosanjh, whose journey from family man and bank manager, to simple justice seeker is powerfully portrayed.
 
The film does not point direct fingers or raise easy slogans or delve into the politics of the time – it merely documents what was happening without flinching or hesitation in its narrative.  The police role and lack of accountability feature heavily.  

In the short time it was available in India, many people did watch it.  

“We kept being told about the film creating a law and order situation – on the contrary, when this film came out (on Zee 5), people from all over and especially Punjab started putting up big screens in villages, gurdwaras and community centres.” revealed Trehan. 

“The cops watched along with everyone else regardless of religion, caste or social background.
 
“Some even made it a thing – you watch the film and then have langar (free food given to devotees & visitors at gurdwaras) and go home,” Trehan chuckled. 

“It was very special. It was the first time in history something like that happened and I think after what happened to the film (getting pulled) – it reached so many more people. In hindsight, it was the best for the film.” 

Outside India, it was available for a week on Zee 5, before being removed.  

“It had a 9.7 IMDB rating after just two days – that’s never been heard of – people were saying it is ‘outstanding’,” continued Trehan. 

“I have not heard a single person who has said anything negative about the actual production.” 

Trehan said that when he and successful & much respected producer Ronnie Screwvala last took it to court, the judge said there shouldn’t be any cuts – but without further legal manoeuvres, the film remains unavailable.
 
“This film is a balm, it is going to heal the wounds of the people from Punjab – they will say somebody has spoken about us. Somebody has spoken about our pain… 

“How far are we going to run away from our past?” 

Trehan has directed two previous features, ‘Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders’ (2025) and ‘Raat Akeli Hai’ (2020) with indie star Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead roles – and has been building a name for himself having been in the industry for some years. He started out as a casting director and producing and graduated to being an assistant director some years earlier – he first befriended Dosanjh as the second unit director on ‘Udta Punjab’ (2015) and says that Dosanjh will feature in his next upcoming feature – another biopic.
 
It will be based on the life of Shiv Kumar Batalvi, popularly known as Kumar Batalvi, a famous Punjabi poet who was best known for his sense of romanticism and artistic temperament – he smoked, drank copiously and was a sociable figure. He travelled to the UK in 1972 and was much feted by the Punjabi community here.
 
Unfortunately, Dosanjh cannot play him in this proposed film, as Batalvi was a chain smoker and Dosanjh is a Sardar – seen very much as a leader and role model. 

“I can’t even ask him to hold a cigarette,” pointed out Trehan. “I will have him in any capacity – because having Diljit in this film, is a blessing of purity, right? He’s such a great soul. ‘Satluj/Panjab 95’ wouldn’t have been the same film without Diljit. 

“I wouldn’t have made the film, if Diljit had said, no,” Trehan reflected.  

He said the film – which cost about £4m in total including the legal costs – remains something everyone is extremely proud of being a part of – both Dosanjh and Screwvala remain loyal to the project.
 
While Trehan is prepping for his new film, he is also considering international work and is talking to producers.  

But it is the example Khalra set that returns him to the subject of his film. 

“We should be open to talk about these stories. Khalra didn’t know the people he was fighting for – he had no connection with these people and yet he sacrificed everything…”