As evening fell over the fields of Gurdaspur, India, villagers crowded into the courtyard of a Sikh temple to watch a film that Indian authorities have blocked from public view.
The movie, called “Satluj,” is based on the true story of a human rights activist who uncovered thousands of cases of disappearances and unlawful killings during a government crackdown on a separatist movement in India’s Punjab state during the 1980s and early 1990s.
At the Gurdaspur screening, elderly survivors of the insurgency sat alongside teenagers who were born long after the conflict had ended. When the film began to play, the crowd went completely quiet.
Originally released under the title “Punjab 95,” the movie spent three years in limbo after India’s censor board demanded more than 120 changes. Unable to secure a traditional theatrical release, it eventually debuted on the ZEE5 streaming service — but was pulled from the platform in India just two days later.
That removal sparked an unexpected response.
Throughout villages across Punjab, Sikh organizations, local activists, and ordinary residents began setting up community screenings using copies of the film that had been shared online. Temple grounds and village gathering spaces were transformed into open-air theaters, where audiences came not only to watch a movie but to witness a retelling of one of India’s most painful internal conflicts.
“Satluj” is drawn from the life of rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, whose investigation into alleged unlawful killings brought to light one of the darkest chapters in Punjab’s history. The conflict saw Sikh militant groups fighting for an independent Khalistan go up against Indian security forces, with thousands of civilians, militants, and police officers losing their lives.
During that period, human rights groups documented claims of forced disappearances, killings in custody, and secret cremations. Khalra’s investigation alleged that thousands of people who had vanished were cremated by police in secret, without notifying families or keeping any official records.
Khalra was abducted in 1995 and subsequently killed. A number of police officers were later convicted in connection with his murder.
Though the insurgency was ultimately suppressed and support for Khalistan diminished within Punjab, the Indian government still considers separatist sentiment a national security threat. Officials have not publicly explained why the film was removed, but told local media outlets it was taken down for security reasons.
The community screenings are organized through grassroots effort. Residents supply projectors, speakers, and power generators. Sikh temples and village community spaces serve as makeshift outdoor theaters for the evening, and volunteers spread news of each event door to door.
Inderjeet Singh Bains, who helps coordinate screenings in the Gurdaspur district, said the goal is to create spaces where people can come together, watch the film, and reflect on a period of Punjab’s history that still resonates across generations.
“When we screen the film, we see our elders and mothers, many of them 60 or 70 years old, crying because they have lost their sons. Our people have endured immense suffering,” Bains said.
Gurmukh Singh, who attended one of the screenings, said the film gave a voice to stories that younger people in Punjab had only heard in pieces. For families in his village, he said, the insurgency is not a distant historical event but a lived reality — many lost loved ones to the violence.
“After watching the movie, there is a feeling of the grief our earlier generations had to bear,” Singh said.
The removal of “Satluj” has reignited a broader conversation about freedom of artistic expression in India, where films have increasingly faced censorship battles under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government. Critics say such conflicts have grown more common and accuse the government of favoring films that fit its nationalist message.
“Everything happened right before our eyes, so what is there to oppose? The truth is coming to light, and people should be allowed to see it,” said Balwinder Singh, a Sikh religious leader.
The government maintains that film certification decisions are made independently and in accordance with the law.
In a statement, ZEE5 said the film would no longer be available for viewing in India “in light of current developments,” but added that it would pursue “every appropriate avenue through due process” to have it restored.
Diljit Dosanjh, the lead actor who portrays Khalra in the film, said he is not worried about whether the movie remains available online, because once people have seen it, “it cannot be erased.”
That idea appears to be taking hold across Punjab’s villages.
Inside the temple courtyard in Gurdaspur, viewers watched scenes depicting police killings, crackdowns, and families desperately searching for answers. After the film ended, many stayed behind to talk, comparing what they had seen on screen with memories they had carried for decades.
Pawan Deep Kaur described the film as a heartbreaking portrayal of the suffering endured by the older generation.
“It made us cry endlessly,” she said.
