Mumbai: Even as ‘Satluj’ continues to face hurdles after its release, director Honey Trehan has opened up about Diljit Dosanjh’s dedication to the film.
The filmmaker revealed that the actor accepted a token fee of just ₹1 to portray human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, believing the role was bigger than money.
“Had Diljit not been there, this film would not have existed. I wanted an actor who knows that world. I was keen on casting a Sardar because if I put a Bollywood actor in the film, the narrative would suddenly become, ‘This actor is playing a Sardar.’ That would’ve been an injustice to Khalra Sahab’s journey and the people whose pain this story carries,” Trehan was quoted as say
ing by The Print.
‘Satluj’ tells the story of Jaswant Singh Khalra, a bank clerk who later became a human rights activist in Punjab. In the 1990s, he investigated the alleged illegal cremation of thousands of unidentified people in the state between 1984 and 1994.
According to the court’s judgment, Khalra was abducted and killed while in police custody in 1995.
Trehan said Diljit was deeply moved after seeing Khalra’s photograph and decided to charge only a token fee of ₹1 for the film. “He stood up from his chair, touched the script to his forehead and said, ‘Waheguru’, ‘How can I charge to play someone like Khalra? It will be shameful,” Trehan recalled.
Trehan further said Diljit stood by the team throughout the making of ‘Satluj’ and remained supportive at every stage of the film.
“There were days when he reported at six in the morning, and I couldn’t take his first shot until four in the evening because schedules had gone haywire. I kept apologising. Every single time, he would tell me, ‘Paaji, no problem. Whatever you’re doing, you’re doing for the film. I’m here to support the film’,” Trehan was quoted as saying by Mid-Day.
‘Satluj’ first ran into trouble over its certification from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). After its release on Zee5, the film was quietly removed from the OTT platform within 48 hours.