By R. Paul Dhillon – Editor DESIBUZZCanada 

With News Files

TORONTO – India has banned the film Punjab ’95 starring Punjabi music and film superstar Diljit Dosanjh as murdered Sikh human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra from being shown at international film festivals as the film is a no-show at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) which kicked off on Thursday.

Punjab ’95 was removed from the lineup at the Toronto International Film Festival. The picture, starring Dosanjh as Khalra, was supposed to premiere in the Gala Presentations strand on Sept. 11.

No formal explanation for the removal was provided, but individuals with knowledge of the matter told TheWrap that the decision was made by the filmmakers, not the festival. As such the film is no longer featured on the official TIFF webpage.

Khalra was a renowned human-rights activist who found evidence of the abduction, murder and cremation of more than 25,000 Sikhs by the police during a 10-year period from 1984 to 1994. Khalra vanished in 1995 and six Punjab police officers were eventually convicted, a decade later, of his murder.

Mumbai-based production company RSVP Movies applied for a censor certificate from India’s Central Board of Film Certification in December 2022. However, the decision was delayed for six months and was resolved only after the filmmakers took the matter to the Bombay High Court. It was eventually given an A rating (restricted to those 18 and up), with demands for 21 cuts and changes in the dialogue. RSVP Movies has filed an appeal with the Bombay High Court over the decision with no verdict yet reached.

The film was originally titled “Ghallughara,” a historic term used to refer to the massacre of Sikhs in 1746, 1762 and 1984. 

A source said there are political forces at play in the film being pulled from Toronto. Canada has the second largest Sikh population in the world after India.

“Punjab ’95” is directed by Honey Trehan who previously made 2020 Netflix thriller “Raat Akeli Hai.” The cast of “Punjab ’95” includes popular musician and actor Dosanjh (“Jogi”), Bollywood star Arjun Rampal (Busan winner “The Rapist”) and Suvinder Vicky, known for Cannes title “The Fourth Direction,” Venice selection “Milestone” and recent Netflix hit series “Kohrra.”

Khalra, a lawyer who exposed police brutalities in Punjab and India including taking his findings abroad to Canada, was brutally murdered by the Indian state police.

In September and October 1995, Indian security forces illegally detained, tortured, and killed Khalra for his work uncovering over 2,000 cases of extrajudicial executions and secret cremations in Amritsar district alone.

Khalra was abducted from his home in Amritsar, Punjab by plain clothes police officers from the Tarn Taran district.  Earlier, Khalra’s research had uncovered the illegal murder and cremation of thousands of young Sikhs by the Punjab Police, the Superintendant of Police from Tarn Taran, Ajit Sandhu had said “if 25,000 have disappeared, it will be easy to make one more disappear too.”

From his abduction on September 6, 1995 until his eventual murder on October 27, 1995, S. Khalra endured unspeakable torture and abuse.  

The story of S. Khalra’s death may have remained a complete mystery if not for Kuldeep Singh, a former Special Police Officer who later came forward as a witness in the Khalra murder case.  Kuldeep Singh was tasked with the job of giving S. Khalra his meals during his illegal detention.

 Kuldeep Singh said that the head of the Punjab Police, KP Gill came to visit Khalra while he was in custody a few days before his murder.  Gill remained with Khalra for half an hour.  After Gill’s departure, Kuldeep Singh heard the head of the police station, SHO Satnam Singh say to Khalra that he could have saved himself if only he had listened to and agreed with the advice of Gill. 

On October 27, 1995, Kuldeep Singh said that police officers began beating Khalra (a regular occurrence) but then shot him twice in the chest.  It was around 10pm. Khalra’s body was taken in a police jeep and thrown into the Harike canal.  The police officers, Arvinder and Balwinder, who disposed of  Khalra’s body were rewarded with two bottles of liquor which they consumed on the lawn of the Harike rest house, as their senior officers enjoyed themselves inside. 

Three months prior to his disappearance, S. Khalra was in Canada at the invitation of the World Sikh Organization of Canada.  He spoke at WSO’s Parliamentary Dinner about his research and the atrocities being committed in Punjab. 

Punjab 95 has been facing an uphill battle in India with India’s film censors delaying it’s clearance. India’s official film certification body, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), gave “Punjab ’95” ‘A’ grade (equivalent to Canada’s 18A certification) in addition to 21 edits and alteration of controversial dialogues.

According to reports, the producers of “Punjab ’95” have been attempting to obtain a certificate in India since December. However, the CBFC’s judgement has been delayed, and the producers told to do 21 changes before CBFC reconsiders giving the certificate.