Diljit Dosanjh's most controversial upcoming movie, Punjab 95, would reportedly see the light of the day in February 2025. Diljit will be essaying the role of famous human rights activist, Jaswant Singh Khalra, and the movie's release has already seen several delays. Diljit has always been in the limelight. Firstly, for ruling the hearts and minds of his fans with this epic Dil-Luminati India concert tour. The actor and singer has already been a part of films like Udta Punjab, Good Newwz, Crew, and Amar Singh Chamkila and proved that he is versatile.
Diljit's next cinematic offering is Punjab '95 . It was on January 11, 2025, when the Punjabi actor took to his Instagram handle to share a hard-hitting poster, donned as Jaswant Singh Khalra. The actor was seen sitting on the floor and had a rugged look. He had clanned a simple turban, kurta and had captioned the post as, "Challenging the darkness." The bruises on the face reveal his character as Jaswant Singh Khalra is power-packed. Now the biggest question arises is that who was Jaswant Singh Kalra and why Punjab '95 is seeing a release in the delay?
When Operation Blue Star took place, Indira Gandhi was assassinated and the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots occurred, the cops were asked to detain the ones they suspected. A report by India Times claimed that during that time the cops were accused of killing suspects who did not have arms and burnt the bodies to cover up the assassinations. During that time Jaswant Singh Kalra reportedly worked on major four cases and had also gathered evidence. The film is based on the Punjab-based activist, although the Central Board of Film Certification in India had ordered 120 cuts in the movie.
Jaswant was a Sikh activist and hailed from Punjab. He was known for his work towards exposing the violation of human rights when the Punjab insurgency had taken place back in the 1980s and 1990s. It was on September 18, 1952, when Khalra was born in Amritsar, Punjab. He had done his training his engineering but then took part in human rights and societal issues. This was because Punjab had faced harsh and violent counterinsurgency steps that were taken by India's government back then.
Between 1980 and 1990 thousands of innocent lives were lost due to Punjab Police, and they were called 'militants'. Khalra knew that they were innocent civilians and he had documented the facts with records and witnesses that the cops had secretly killed the civilians, to tamper evidence. It was in 1995 that he had made his findings open to the world and revealed the secret killings. He became a target of the officials as he had got attention to the abuses that the civilians underwent.
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Back in September 1995, Khalra was arrested and tortured in the custody of the Punjab police. His disappearance remained unknown for months and reportedly when his body was found it showed signs of extreme torture. His work showed awareness of the human rights abuses that took place in Punjab but the killers were never held responsible.
It was in September 2024 when Prasoon Joshi chairman of Central Board Of Film Certification watched Punjab '95 with the Revising Committee and gave the final changes. Sources close to Midday have said that the cuts have increased from 85 to 120, and Khalra's character has also been renamed. A source from the movie's team told the publication that as per the CBFC's suggestion, the film will now be called Sutlej, denoting the river that unites Punjab. There are a total of almost 120 changes! The most pivotal change is to not call the protagonist, 'Jaswant Singh' anymore. The source said:
"Honey and producer Ronnie Screwvala told CBFC that they won't allow this change in a film that highlights Khalra's role in investigating the disappearance and killing of Sikh youths during the Punjab insurgency between 1984 and 1994. Their point of argument was that Khalra is seen as a martyr by the Sikh community and removing his name will be disrespectful not just to him and his family, but to the entire community."
Not to forget that the movie will not be a biopic and the CBFC claimed that the film cannot claim to be based on real-life instances as they had the feeling sentiments would be swayed. The first look of the movie was released in July 2023 but the premiere did not take place at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
Khalra's wife, Paramjit Kaur had earlier said that Khalra's family had given consent to the movie and the script was reviewed. The family had watched the gripping movie in 2022 and had expressed their satisfaction over Khalra's fight towards injustice. Khalra's wife raised her voice against 120 cuts in the movie and demanded it to be released with no cuts. The film was initially called, Ghallughara and the film directed by Honey Trehan had to undergo a name change as it gave reference to the Sikh massacre in the 17th century, which would have complicated the movie.
What do you think of Diljit Dosanjh's Punjab '95 ?
Also Read: Zahan Kapoor's Story: Success With Black Warrant, Resemblance With Shashi Kapoor, Parents Divorce
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