Diljit Dosanjh’s film ‘Punjab 95’ will no longer be released internationally on February 7. Diljit himself has shared this information with his fans. The film is based on the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, who was from the Tarn Taran district of Punjab. There is already a controversy in India regarding its release. Diljit Dosanjh shared on his Instagram story – We are sad to inform you that the film ‘Punjab 95’ will not be released on February 7, due to some circumstances which are beyond our control. The film was already not releasing in India.
Last week, when Diljit released the teaser of Punjab 95 release on YouTube, it was removed after a few hours. The censor board had directed the producers to release the film with 120 cuts. Apart from this, the film was also asked to be named Sutlej. But the producers refused, saying that it would end the original story of the film.
Diljit’s film Punjab 95 is based on the life of the greatest human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, who raised the voices of innocent Sikhs killed in fake police encounters in Punjab during the 80s and 90s. Diljit is playing the role of Jaswant Singh Khalra in the film Punjab 95.
The Khalra family has expressed regret that the Central Board of Film Certification-Censor Board (CBFC) had objected to some passages in the film and demanded 120 cuts, which we do not approve. According to this post shared by Paramjit Kaur Khalra, wife of Amar Shaheed Jaswant Singh Khalra, the censor board has also suggested some other changes in the film such as not using the name of Jaswant Singh Khalra, removing the pronunciation of Gurbani, removing the figures of fake police encounters, unclaimed bodies and the names of the places where these incidents took place in Punjab.
The family does not agree with the changes suggested by the Censor Board and demands that the film be released as it is. Paramjit Kaur said that the changes that the CBFC has asked for in the film are taken from public documents (newspapers and court records).
She has described these changes as “an attempt by the Government of India and the Censor Board to change the facts certified by the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Supreme Court of India and the reports of the Central Human Rights Commission”.
Paramjit Kaur Khalra had alleged that the film was selected for the Toronto International Film Festival (2023) in Canada but was not allowed to be screened there. The family has appealed to the CBFC that the historical facts shown in the film have been proven and should not be changed.
Sikh thinker Gurtej Singh, while talking about the controversy related to the film ‘Punjab 95’, said that the Censor Board’s criteria should be different for films made on political and historical subjects. He said, “This film is about Sikh activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, who fought for human rights, and not an interesting drama that should be changed at its core.”
