Streaming platform ZEE5 has urged viewers not to support piracy, hours after singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh said he was relieved that Satluj had been downloaded and reached households despite being taken down.

"We are hopeful and doing everything we can. Please do not support piracy. We remain committed to exploring every possible avenue to bring Satluj back to you," the platform wrote on Instagram.

The film premiered on ZEE5 on Friday but was removed from the platform on Sunday evening.

During a live interaction with fans, Dosanjh said the team had expected such a situation from the outset.

"The incident took place in 1995 and they didn't let people talk about it then. It is happening even today. I'm a little sad. We're still standing there, this is 2026," he said.

Explaining why the makers chose not to announce the film's release or conduct a promotional campaign, Dosanjh said in Punjabi, "This was expected from day one, and that is why we couldn't even promote the film and released it without telling anyone. If we had announced the release and promoted it two days prior, it wouldn't have been released at all. But now I am satisfied that the film has reached every household. You have the film, people have downloaded it, and today the new youth is talking about it."

Directed by Honey Trehan, the film is based on the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra. It debuted on ZEE5 in India on Friday under the new title Satluj, after remaining stalled in the certification process for more than three years.

However, the platform removed the film from its India catalogue two days later.

"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," ZEE5 said in a statement.

Dosanjh portrays Khalra, who investigated the cremation of thousands of unidentified bodies in Punjab between 1984 and 1994 before disappearing in 1995.

In 2005, four Punjab Police personnel were convicted of Khalra's abduction and murder and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment. The sentence was enhanced to life imprisonment by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2007.

Originally titled Punjab '95, the film faced a prolonged certification battle after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) reportedly sought 127 cuts, delaying its release for years.

The film was also slated to have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023 but was later dropped from the festival's line-up without an official explanation.

Ahead of its release, Trehan had said the film would stream on ZEE5 in its original form without "any cuts or compromises".

Produced by Trehan, Abhishek Chaubey and Ronnie Screwvala under the banners MacGuffin Pictures and RSVP, the film also stars Arjun Rampal, Kanwaljit Singh, Suvinder Vicky and Geetika Vidya Ohlyan.