21 To 127 Cuts: CBFC's Demands To Censor This Controversial Biopic Lands It In Nowhere Land. It Stars Diljit Dosanjh And Arjun Rampal, Was Supposed To Release In 2023, Is Based On...

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) acts as a bridge between the filmmakers and the audience. It certifies movies for public exhibition, considering factors like social values, artistic freedom and entertainment. Time and again, makers and the CBFC are seen at loggerheads over the age-based certification system. At other times, the body demands certain changes and cuts be made in the films submitted to them to make them fit for theatrical and OTT release later.

The curious case of a biopic starring Punjabi singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh and Arjun Rampal needs mention in the context of censorship in India. Titled Punjab 95, the Honey Trehan directorial was announced to be premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2023. However, fate had other plans. The team was informed by Indian authorities that they would have to pull the film from TIFF. Trehan abided.

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In 2024, the negotiations between the director and CBFC began about what "controversial" elements of the movies would have to be edited out. Initially, 21 cuts were suggested, as per Trehan, which he unwillingly complied with so that Punjab 95 could at least see the light of day. However, several submissions and discussions later, more cuts were demanded by the CBFC, and the number of edits rose to over a hundred. Trehan said that, as of today, cuts demanded by the CBFC stand at 127. The case also reached the Court, but the team was told to "drop it" legally.  

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From the identity and the name of the central character in the biopic to the movie's title, cuts suggested to Punjab 95 are varied.

What is the movie stuck with CBFC about?

Punjab 95 is based on the controversial Sikh figure Jaswant Singh Khalra. He was known for uncovering human rights violations during Punjab’s militancy era. Reportedly, Khalra investigated the mass cremation of thousands of unidentified bodies in Punjab between 1984 and 1994. In 1995, he mysteriously disappeared, and a decade later, in 2005, four police officers were arrested for his alleged abduction and murder. In 2007, the Punjab and Haryana High Court extended their initial seven-year sentence to life imprisonment.

Diljit stars as Khalra in Punjab 95. Trehan has complied with all the edits to the movie and has reportedly changed its title to Sutlej. Trehan shared that he has withdrawn his name from the movie as "it's not his" anymore.