Hope is both fulfilled and unfinished: Satluj actor Geetika's moving post amid row

After Satluj was pulled from ZEE5, actor Geetika Vidya Ohlyan said the team's hope feels both fulfilled and unfinished. She looked back on the four years they spent waiting to share the film with audiences in a moving Instagram post.

In Short

• Geetika shared a moving post on Instagram reflecting on the film's journey
• The Satluj actor said that the film's journey feels both fulfilled and unfinished
• She plays Paramjit Kaur Khalra in the film

Actor Geetika Vidya Ohlyan on Wednesday shared a moving social media post, saying the team behind Satluj carried the film quietly in their hearts for four years. The admission came after the film’s brief release and takedown in India. Geetika plays Paramjit Kaur Khalra, the on-screen wife of actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh’s character in the film. Satluj began streaming on ZEE5 on July 3 and was removed 48 hours later.

In her Instagram post, Geetika said the film’s journey left the team’s hope of sharing it with viewers feeling "both fulfilled and unfinished."

Sharing a picture, Geetika wrote, "For four years, we carried this film quietly in our hearts, hoping for the day we could finally share it with you. Today, that hope feels both fulfilled and unfinished, as Satluj finds its voice in some places while remaining silenced in others (sic)."

She added, "It was an honour to step into the world of Bibi Paramjit and to stand beside @diljitdosanjh in telling the story of Jaswant Singh Khalra ji and the family whose love endured what words never fully can describe." She concluded, "In admiration of @honeytrehan for his decision. As he always says: #Nirbhau #Nirvair. And as Jaswant Singh Khalra ji always said: #challengethedarkness (sic)."

More about Satluj

Directed by Honey Trehan, Satluj is inspired by the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra and focuses on the disappearance and illegal cremation of thousands of unidentified bodies during Punjab’s militancy era in the 1980s and 1990s. The film entered the certification process in late 2022.

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) reportedly first suggested 21 cuts and asked the makers to change the title from Ghallughara to Punjab ’95, after which the producers moved the Bombay High Court. The film was later referred to the CBFC’s revising committee, which reportedly proposed 127 cuts and asked the makers to change the name of the protagonist, Jaswant Singh Khalra. The makers refused the changes, and the film remained unreleased in India for years.

The film was also scheduled to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023, but the screening was cancelled after objections were reportedly raised by Indian authorities.

On July 3, Satluj was released on ZEE5 without promotions. As praise began to pour in, the film was pulled from the platform.

In a statement, ZEE5 said it stood by the film and that, "in light of current developments", it was unavailable for streaming. In a later statement shared on Instagram, the streaming platform said the film would be unavailable in India until further notice and that it remained committed to exploring every appropriate avenue through due process to bring it back at the earliest opportunity.

According to reports, the Centre directed ZEE5 to take down the film, citing security concerns under the Information Technology Rules, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting constituted a high-level interdepartmental committee to examine the film’s contents. The move drew objections from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and several Punjab-based political parties.

On Monday morning, Diljit said during an Instagram Live that he had known the film would be pulled down by Monday. He urged fans to show the film to others who had not seen it yet and said he would be with Punjab till the day he dies.

Satluj also stars Kanwaljeet Singh, Arjun Rampal and Suvinder Vicky.

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