Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh's film Satluj simply refuses to leave the headlines. After months of tussle with the Central Board of Film Certification, the film finally reached audiences, only to be pulled from the OTT platform Zee5 within just 48 hours of its release. Amid all this, director Honey Trehan has revealed something that has won over Diljit Dosanjh's fans even further, disclosing exactly how much fee Diljit took to play human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra.
Everyone who watched the film in its first two days came away moved. Diljit Dosanjh's acting drew widespread praise. But the detail dominating conversation right now is the moment Diljit refused to take a fee for the role at all.
Why Diljit was chosen for the role
The makers of Satluj fought a long battle to bring the film to screen. Between the certification dispute and the film's sudden removal from OTT, Diljit Dosanjh's commitment to this project has been winning hearts through every setback. According to director Honey Trehan, he had wanted from the very start that a Sikh actor play the role of Jaswant Singh Khalra, so that the spirit of the story and its cultural authenticity remained intact. He believed that casting a big Bollywood star would have shifted the conversation away from the character and onto the actor, which would not have done justice to Khalra's legacy.
Who was Jaswant Singh Khalra
Satluj is based on the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra. Khalra came into the spotlight in the 1990s for investigating what were allegedly 25,000 unidentified cremations carried out in Punjab between 1984 and 1994. According to court records, he was abducted in 1995 and killed in police custody.
Eyes welled up the moment he heard the script
Honey Trehan said he met Diljit for about 30 minutes in 2021, showing him his research and the script. Diljit became emotional the moment he saw a photograph of Jaswant Singh Khalra. According to Trehan, Diljit pressed the script to his forehead, said Waheguru, and told him, how could he take money to play a character like Khalra Sahab, that doing so would be shameful. However, when Trehan pointed out that a contract needed some formal figure, Diljit agreed to take just Re 1.
Never complained despite repeated delays
In another conversation, Honey Trehan also praised Diljit's professionalism at length. He said the shooting schedule went off track several times. Diljit would arrive on set at 6 in the morning, yet his first shot sometimes wouldn't be taken until 4 in the evening. Despite such long delays, he never once complained. According to the director, Diljit would smile every time and say, paaji, it's fine, whatever you're doing, you're doing it for the film, I'm here to support the film.
The film was first called 'Punjab 95', then renamed
Notably, Satluj was originally titled Punjab 95 before the name was changed. The makers have not openly explained why the film was pulled from OTT. However, it is being said that the film never received a CBFC certificate, and citing security reasons, it was taken down under Section 69A of the IT Act.
