‘Punjab ’95’ About Indian Human-Rights Activist Jaswant Singh Khalra Pulled From TIFF

Anthony D'Alessandro
·1 min read
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The Indian human rights activist drama, Punjab ’95, has been pulled from this year’s TIFF lineup, Deadline has confirmed. We hear this was a decision made by the filmmakers, not the festival.

The pic, directed by Honey Trehan, tells the story of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, and was scheduled to world premiere in the Gala Presentations section on Sept. 11.

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The movie follows Khalra’s courageous campaign to uncover the murders and abduction of more than 25,000 Sikhs by Punjab police from 1984-1994. Khalra disappeared in September 1995 with six Punjab police officers convicted for his abduction and murder ten years later. The pic is the second feature from Trehan after the 2020 Netflix movie Raat Akeli Hai. The filmmaker was previously at TIFF in 2016 as a producer on the pic A Death in the Gunj. Punjab ’95 stars singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh as Khalra.

Screen Daily reports that the pic’s Mumbai-based production company RSVP Movies applied for a censor certificate from India’s Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) last December with a decision delayed for six months. Reportedly, the pic received an A grade on July 4 (restricted to adults over 18 year old) with an order insisting on 21 edits and a change-up in dialogue with concerns that parts of the movie could incite violence and radicalize Sikh youth. RSVP Movies filed an appeal with the Bombay High Court and is awaiting on a decision.

TIFF runs Sept. 7-17.

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