Diljit Dosanjh’s ‘Satluj’ has been in the news ever since it was removed from OTT two days after the film’s release. Earlier, the CBFC had suggested 127 cuts for the film, so the producers opted for an OTT release.
Now, director Anurag Kashyap has claimed that former CBFC president Prasoon Joshi objected to Diljit Dosanjh’s ‘Satluj’ without even watching the film. Speaking about the long-running censorship battle surrounding the release of Honey Trehan, Kashyap claimed that the director himself told him that objections were raised despite Joshi not having seen the film. For those who don’t know, Prasoon Joshi headed the Central Board of Film Certification until May 2026, when Shashi Shekhar Vempati took over as president.Earlier, the film ‘Satluj’ was titled ‘Punjab ’95’ and has been embroiled in censorship issues for nearly three years. The film was recently pulled from ZEE5 worldwide just days after its release. Kashyap recalled a conversation with Honey Trehan about the certification process. “Honey says Prasoon Joshi had objections to the film. He did not see the film. I know, in other cases too, the chairman does not see the film,” Kashyap said in an interview with Kunal Kamra.
The director also claimed that the CBFC president does not necessarily watch every film personally and may instead rely on reports submitted by members of the screening committee before making a decision. He said: “On the basis of this report, an arbitrary decision could be taken. Therefore, the film was withdrawn arbitrarily. When I last spoke to Honey, he was not given any clear reasons.”Trehan recently told The Indian Express that neither he nor the producers received any direct communication before removing the film from the streaming platform.
“I did not receive any calls from them. I had nothing to do. I did not receive any calls from the producers or myself. But Zee5 received a letter from the (I&B) ministry to stop the film,” Trehan said.According to the report, when the project was still titled ‘Punjab 95’, Prasoon Joshi recommended 127 cuts, including removing every reference to Punjab. The manufacturers also alleged that they were being pressured to withdraw their case against the CBFC while the matter was pending before the court.Kashyap also criticized Joshi for not publicly addressing the recent controversies surrounding film censorship. “If the face of the body is Prasoon Joshi, he has not made any statements about all the films that have been stopped. Ultimately, by removing FCAT, it is something like Kafka,” he said.He also added: “The government office is the face of Kafka. You cannot hold one government office responsible because it follows guidelines and procedures,” while claiming that guidelines change depending on public sentiment.
