The buzz around Diljit Dosanjh's film Satluj is far from over. After a three year struggle to release, the film had premiered on the OTT platform ZEE5 on July 3 and quickly climbed to a striking 9.3 rating on IMDB. But just days later it was pulled from the platform, a move ZEE5 confirmed through its own social media page. Amid the confusion, Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh posted an emotional review of the film, while Diljit Dosanjh offered his own indirect response to the sudden removal.
Three years of struggle, then a sudden exit from the platform
Directed by Honey Trehan, Satluj had a difficult journey to the screen from the very beginning. The team spent close to three years trying to get the film released, eventually settling on a digital release instead of a theatrical one. When it finally arrived on ZEE5 on July 3, it found an audience almost immediately, especially among viewers connected to the Sikh community who lived through the difficult period of the 1990s and lost family members during that time. The response was strong enough to push the film to a 9.3 rating on IMDB within days, an unusually high score for any new release. Yet despite that early momentum, the film was abruptly taken down from ZEE5, with the platform announcing the removal on its social media without detailing the exact reason behind the decision.
Harbhajan Singh's emotional post on X
As news of the removal spread, Harbhajan Singh shared a lengthy and heartfelt post about Satluj on his X account. He wrote that the Jallianwala Bagh massacre remains one of history's greatest tragedies, carried out under colonial rule, but that watching the story of Jaswant Singh Khalra raised a different question for him: what could be more painful than cruelty from outsiders, when the very people responsible for protecting their own become the biggest source of fear? He added that a police officer's duty is to protect innocent lives, not misuse power. According to Harbhajan Singh, Khalra's courage brought forward evidence of alleged unlawful disappearances and secret cremations, a reminder that the misuse of state power can leave wounds that last generations. He wrote that mothers in Punjab are still waiting for answers, and that many families are still waiting for justice, but the truth cannot be suppressed forever. He closed his post by praising the work of Honey Trehan and Diljit Dosanjh for bringing Jaswant Singh Khalra's story to the world, saying his courage should always be remembered.
Why the story is striking such a chord
Satluj is said to be based directly on the life and struggle of Jaswant Singh Khalra, which explains the intensity of the reaction the film received right after release. A significant number of viewers were people who lived through or closely witnessed the events of the 1990s, and for them the film was not just another release but a reminder of personal pain from that era. That emotional weight is a big part of why reactions poured in so quickly across social media once the film became available.
Diljit's indirect response after the OTT removal
Even though the film has been pulled from ZEE5, conversation around it has only grown online. Diljit Dosanjh has not issued any direct or official statement about the removal, but he did share a post on Instagram recently featuring a clip from Satluj that speaks about spreading light in the darkness. Fans have interpreted this as his way of responding to the removal without addressing it head on. Separately, a video of Diljit has also been circulating widely, in which he is heard saying that if the film has been taken down, it can stay down, because people have already downloaded it. His point, as seen in the clip, was that the story simply needs to reach people, and that they will find a way to watch it regardless.
What fans and viewers are saying
Interest in Satluj has not faded despite its removal. Reactions from prominent figures like Harbhajan Singh have kept the film in the spotlight, and viewers are now asking why a film that was earning such strong ratings and audience love was taken down from the platform so suddenly.
