Actor Gul Panag has reacted to the ongoing controversy surrounding Satluj, days after the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer was removed from Zee5. Sharing a personal memory, she said India should not shy away from telling stories that revisit difficult chapters of its past.
What did Gul Panag write about Satluj?
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Gul reflected on her childhood in Punjab during the years of militancy. She recalled growing up amid fear and reading disturbing reports of violence in newspapers. She wrote, “I grew up in Punjab during the brutal years of militancy. I remember reading newspaper headlines about buses being stopped and innocent passengers being pulled out and killed. I also remember accounts of young men being picked up, detained and tortured, despite having nothing to do with the movement. Including from my village.”
Explaining why films like Satluj matter, Gul said difficult periods in history should not be forgotten simply because they make people uncomfortable. She added, “Those memories are precisely why I don’t believe we should become so uncomfortable with difficult chapters of our history that we stop telling stories about them.”
Satluj under review, MIB forms committee
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has constituted a high-level Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC) to examine the content of Diljit Dosanjh’s Satluj, sources said. The development comes a day after the Centre directed OTT platform Zee5 to remove the film from its library.
According to sources, the action was taken under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, along with the provisions of Part III of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
A senior MIB official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the matter is currently under review by the IDC, which has been constituted under Rule 14 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The committee is empowered to examine such matters and submit its recommendations to the Central Government.
Ministry sources said, “The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has set up a high-level Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC) to examine the content of the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer Satluj, a film inspired by the disappearance of a Punjab-based human rights activist. The committee was constituted on Monday, a day after the Centre directed OTT platform Zee5 to remove the film from its platform.”
Also read: Anurag Kashyap reacts to removal of Satluj from OTT, says it’ll make ‘more people want to watch it’
