The Centre directed OTT platform ZEE5 to take down the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer Satluj citing “security concerns” and obligations under the Information Technology Rules, 2021, government sources told PTI on Monday.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) criticised the move and called for the film's release.
The Honey Trehan-directed film, based on the life of activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, was released uncut on ZEE5 on Friday but was removed from the platform on Sunday evening.
Satluj traces Khalra's investigation into the cremation of thousands of unidentified bodies in Punjab between 1984 and 1994. Khalra was abducted in 1995 and was never seen again.
Government sources said the makers had applied for Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) clearance in 2022 under the original title Punjab 95 but did not accept the 127 cuts suggested by the censor board and withheld its theatrical release.
“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,” a government official told PTI.
While OTT content does not fall under the CBFC's jurisdiction, it is regulated under Part III of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
Dosanjh said on Monday that the development was expected, while ZEE5 appealed to viewers not to support piracy, saying the film had already been downloaded by many.
The issue also drew political reactions, with the Shiromani Akali Dal, the Congress and Punjab's ruling Aam Aadmi Party criticising the removal of the film and asserting that the state must confront its past.
SGPC chief secretary Kulwant Singh Manan said people should know what happened in Punjab during that period. “What is wrong if reality is shown, and the public comes to know what happened during those days in Punjab,” Manan told PTI.
Condemning the “arbitrary removal” of the film, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said, “Efforts to hide the government atrocities committed against Sikhs can never be successful.
“Today the honourable courts are giving punishments to the police officers of that time. How can anyone turn their back on these decisions of the courts?” Dhami asked.
