‘Plz sab log dekho, pirate karo par dekho’: Anurag Kashyap urges netizens to watch leaked uncut version of Diljit Dosanjh starrer ‘Satluj’ after OTT removal
The ongoing censorship war surrounding Diljit Dosanjh’s human rights biopic ‘Satluj’ has taken an explosive turn. Acclaimed director and actor Anurag Kashyap has officially voiced his anger over the central government’s sudden decision to enforce a digital blackout on the film, pointing out that administrative bans ultimately backfire by amplifying public intrigue. Sharing his initial reaction via his official Instagram stories, Kashyap reposted ZEE5’s formal announcement regarding the temporary suspension of the title in India.
Anurag Kashyap tells fans to watch ‘Satluj’ regardless if it is on OTT or not
The famed actor and filmmaker shared his thoughts on the ongoing ‘Satluj’ controversy and shared that he stands by the fact that the film should be released. Initially, he took to his Instagram stories to share a post from the hosting OTT platform, announcing that for the time being, ‘Satluj’ would not be available online on their platform.Kashyap posted the statement along with his own caption that read, “The thing about banning something is that the more you ban something, the more people want to watch it. I was not even planning to watch this film, but now I will have to watch it to understand why it got banned.”Later, he posted another story featuring an edit from the film shared by a fan online. In the screengrab, the scene showed Arjun Rampal on the cover, along with the words “This scene is the main reason for removing the movie from OTT.” The filmmaker also urged the public to watch the film regardless of whether it was available on any OTT platform, stating that they should watch it even if they have to get their hands on the pirated version. He added, “Plz sab log dekho, pirate karo par dekho” (Please, everyone watch it—pirate it if you have to, but watch it).
About ‘Satluj’
Set around the 1990s during the insurgency era in Punjab, the film follows the life of activist Jaswant Singh Khalra who investigated and collected evidence of thousands of illegal cremations and human rights violations during that time, along with their connection to corrupt police personnel. Diljit Dosanjh leads the film, which also stars Arjun Rampal, Kanwaljit Singh, Suvinder Vicky and Geetika Vidya Ohlyan.The film had been kept on hold for around 3 to 4 years because of certification issues from the CBFC. Earlier reports suggested that the filmmaker Honey Trehan was advised by the board to make more than 120 cuts to the film’s final cut. The uncut version was released online on ZEE5 recently; however, within 48 hours, it was removed from the portal until further notice.
Center says ‘Satluj’ released without certification process completion
ANI recently reported that the film was not cleared by the certification board, which is why it was removed from India for the time being. A statement further shared that, “Satluj did not have the required certification for a theatrical release. Instead of complying with the certification process, the makers changed the film’s title and released it on an OTT platform on Friday.”Previously, Diljit Dosanjh had commented during his latest live session about the possibility of the film being removed from the platform, which came true only hours later. During the same live, he shared that while he was disappointed with everything, he was still happy with the response the film was getting and that he was watching the videos fans had shared online.
