Diljit Dosanjh's 'Punjab 95' removed from Toronto Film Festival line-up

Chandigarh, August 12

Diljit Dosanjh-starrer ‘Punjab 95’, based on the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, faces a setback. The movie has been removed from the line-up of the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival, starting on September 7.

Directed by Honey Trehan, the movie was scheduled for a world premiere in the Gala Presentations section on September 11, but the TIFF’s website has no mention of the biographical drama in its line-up anymore.

According to reports, a TIFF spokesperson informed UK-based publication Screen that ‘Punjab 95’ is no longer part of the programme.

There has been no official statement regarding the removal of ‘Punjab 95’ nor has anyone from the film commented on the same.

Khalra fought against alleged fake encounters of Sikh youths by Punjab Police during militancy. He is known to have investigated the creamtion of thousands of unidentified bodies in Punjab from 1984 to 1994. It was in 1995 that Khalra apparently disappeared and four police officers were arrested for his alleged kidnap and murder in 2005.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court extended the seven-year jail term of the four policemen to life imprisonment in 2007.

Coming back to the film, it is produced by Ronnie Screwvala’s banner RSVP Movies and also stars Arjun Rampal and Suvinder Vicky.

The film was originally titled, ‘Ghallughara’, a historic term used to refer to the massacre of Sikhs.

When the production banner RSVP applied for certification from Central Board of Film Certification in late 2022, the process took six months. The film was cleared with 21 cuts and a change of title to ‘Punjab 95’.

RSVP appealed the decision in the Bombay High Court but it is pending.