:Director Honey Trehan on His Film Punjab ‘95 and the Censorship Battle with CBFC

The Hindu

a day ago

Published : Jul 11, 2025 16:20 IST - 16 MINS READ
Film director Honey Trehan's upcoming movie, Punjab '95, faces serious censorship hurdles. This film revisits a black chapter of independent India's history—the Punjab Insurgency—through the biographical account of Sikh human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra. Jaswant Singh was abducted from his home, killed in police custody, and his body secretly disposed of. In 2005, six police officials were convicted, and in 2011, the Supreme Court upheld the judgment and strongly criticised the role of Punjab police. Edited excerpts:
We've seen several Punjab regional movies such as Punjab 1984, Sadda Haq, Hawayein, and Gulzar's Maachis. All explored themes such as insurgency, Operation Blue Star, the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, police excesses and their deep impact on Punjab's social fabric. While these films faced censorship challenges, they eventually saw the light of day. How is your movie different? What has changed between the time of Maachis and Punjab '95?
I have great regard for Gulzar's Maachis. The subject is very, very close to me. Maachis, Hawayein… all the other films you mentioned—those films are works of fiction. Punjab '95 is based on a true story. All the accounts are based on a legal history of that particular era. This is more than documenting the dark chapter of the insurgency period. That is what Punjab '95 is all about.
I believe this film is more relevant because certain things happened during the insurgency period, which started in 1984 and continued till 95-96. The police were given somewhat extra and ambiguous powers to handle militancy, as Punjab was experiencing a major turmoil. To handle that, few police officers misused their power. This is the intent in human nature when somebody is being given lots of power and they intend to—a few of them—misuse that power. I believe the same thing is happening right now because some extra powers been given to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and few people are definitely trying to misuse those powers.
Coming back to Jaswant Singh Khalra's case. When he found out about those estimated 25,000 extrajudicial killings and the people who never returned home, when he started fighting for those people—the regime couldn't take it because he was somewhere challenging the state. His allegations were to the Director General of Police (DGP) and to the State government where he was seeking some answers, which they didn't like.
Eventually, on September 6, 1995, he was abducted. His family became one of those he was fighting for. He had four-year-old son, six-year-old daughter at his house. Still, he carried on with the fight until he himself was abducted. When the FIR was filed, no one was willing to accept it. The police station and the officers never admitted to abducting him—they simply treated it as a case of disappearance. As time passed and inquiries began amid growing outcry over human rights abuses committed in the name of counter-insurgency, the Central government eventually handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). A CBI team came to Punjab and they figured out over the period of time that Jaswant Singh Khalra was abducted by the cops.
Court judgments and everything related to his case is in the public domain. Many senior Congress leaders from Punjab, from the Sikh Community, have emphasised it, supporting the release of the film. The Supreme Court has upheld the convictions and severely criticised the role of the Punjab police and the way State power was abused.
All these things are on the records. The six accused police officers have already been convicted. It reflects positively on our Constitution, and casts both the State and the Centre in a commendable light. The Punjab and Haryana High Court sentenced the guilty to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court has upheld the High Court's decision. Those people are still serving life imprisonment and everything is on record.
My entire case is based on the testimonies of the people, on the court proceedings, court records and court judgements, not only from whatever material is there, also attested by the courts: The CBI special court, Sessions court, Punjab and Haryana High Courts, and the Supreme Court. If you're challenging the film, you're challenging the history of Punjab. You have to make a stand whether those things exist or not. If those things are factually correct—which shows the government in a great light—then it's an important film. I don't really understand what problem the CBFC has with this film and why they are trying to block it.
Do you think the Censor Board's approach is politically motivated? Has the larger political climate changed between the time of Maachis and Punjab '95?
Yes, absolutely. There's no explanation. Many people just comply with this kind of dictatorship—because even if you're telling me to cut certain parts, you don't have any official letter to justify it. These people [CBFC] don't have any legitimate answers. It seems they too are being dictated by somebody. There are people in power who are trying to probably use CBFC as a backdoor entry to the film industry to control the freedom of speech and freedom of expression so they can control the narrative according to whatever their political agenda is.
There are certain things, I think, somebody needs to make sense out of it because it doesn't make any sense to me why these cuts are there. What is the problem? Everything is there in official documents in the public domain.
Reports suggest the CBFC has demanded over 120 cuts. Can you explain the Censor Board's demands and what they mean for the integrity of your film?
I really have no idea because we tried to have a dialogue with them so many times, but there is a radio silence on their part. This was about 21 cuts which we opposed. We didn't agree to those cuts. Now the appellate tribunal is also not there. So, you don't have an option. When the censor committee sees the film, they recommend your film to the revising committee. If you don't agree to the demands of revising committee, you go to the High Court. So, we did the same thing. We didn't agree and we went to the court.
In the High Court, we were on a great wicket because the lordship has seen the problem. Everybody has seen the problem. Most of the points made by CBFC was merely on assumptions. At one point, Lordship had to say, 'Since when the Censor Board started working on assumptions'?
Then the point came about the law and order will get disrupted in Punjab, which I don't understand. The Kashmir Files is about Kashmir—law and order is intact. The Kerala Story comes from Kerala—law order does not get disrupted. Then there is Emergency that comes from Delhi. The Sabarmati Report comes from Gujarat. All four films are from four different States. These movies didn't disturb law and order in these States. Why would a film that comes out of Punjab disrupt Punjab's law and order? Since when CBFC started looking into the law and order? It is a certification board. Their job is to give a certificate to a film on certain parameters.
It reflects a bigger, all pervasive problem in India. We don't do our job properly. We intend to look at other people's job. You are CBFC. Your job is to give the certificate. Law and order is the problem of the State government. Let them do their job. I definitely feel CBFC is somewhere misusing their power.
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You've stated you're willing to accept cuts if directed by the court. Are you facing hurdles while seeking legal recourse?
Yes, because we were almost there in High Court when my producer got a call from the CBFC and from higher authorities, urging us not to fight against the CBFC and the government. You have to withdraw the film from the high court. That was the time when my film was selected for 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.
We had to withdraw the film from the festival. Later, we were asked to reach an out-of-court settlement on those 21 cuts. The CBFC was instructed to review the film with the cuts in place and issue the certificate. That's what I was told, as I wasn't part of the meetings (where these decisions were taken).
We made the 21 cuts and submitted the revised copy, but the revising committee came back with more observations. They kept adding new points, and the process went on repeatedly. By the time they were done, the committee had viewed the film six to seven times—even though, under the Cinematograph Act, they are not permitted to watch a film more than twice.
Then it went on to 85 cuts. Then we were told, okay, do these 85 cuts and the chairperson will watch the film. Then the chairperson watched the film and we were awarded with 16 more points which, if you put together, becomes more than 125 cuts. We are still trying to do out of court settlement.
You spoke about the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and how suddenly your movie was withdrawn. What happened and what did it mean for your film's international journey?
My producers were forced to withdraw the film from High Court and the Toronto Festival. You can't fight with the government. My producer agreed and then we had to withdraw the film, which was very, very unfortunate and very disheartening.
You've said some of the Censor Board's objections were verbally communicated as non-negotiable. Tell us about the nature of these communications.
You don't get a direct mail. If the Censor Board has a problem with certain cuts, logic says, they need to write an email and should have it signed. I don't have any sort that paperwork. They communicate things to their lawyer. Their lawyer communicates things to my producer's lawyer. Then those things come to me. Then I have to make the changes, submit them to their lawyer. So it's very roundabout. Nothing is legitimate. Nothing is by the book, by the law. For me, that remains the most troubling aspect of the entire delay in the release of Punjab '95.
Were you told you can't use words like Punjab or show Indian flag?
It's a film set in Punjab. Now they want the word 'Punjab' to not be mentioned in the film. There are people who are part of Punjab police. They're wearing the costume. They are saying, don't say 'Punjab police'. Say 'police'. They're cops with the turban. Which other State of India has that? What do I call them? They have no answer to that.
Jaswant Singh Khalra went to the Tarn Taran crematorium where he found 600 unclaimed bodies. Then he went to three more crematoriums—Patti, Durgiana and Amritsar—where the total he put together was 2097, then later on 6070. The estimated number [of extrajudicial killings] in Punjab is near about 25,000. They are saying you cannot mention all these places. Don't name them. Don't mention any figure like 600, 2097, 6017 and 25,000.
There should not be any mention of police brutality such as how Jaswant Singh Khalra was captured and tortured. You cannot show the Indian flag, you cannot show the Canadian flag, you cannot show UK flag. Why? There is no reason.
The film is set in Punjab. I used Gurbani with all respect and where it was needed to be used. I used Gurbani and I have been asked to remove the entire Gurbani from the film. I am not allowed to say the words like Delhi, I cannot mention Centre. I cannot mention 'system'. I cannot mention State. I cannot mention the year of 1984, I cannot mention 1995, I cannot mention extrajudicial killing, I cannot mention unclaimed bodies. Then what I am doing with the film?
Especially since it's a biographical film, it makes factual accuracy even more important.
I cannot talk about those dead bodies, which are mentioned in the National Human Rights Commission [NHRC] report, where the human rights body has asked the government to compensate the aggrieved families. It's a part of larger history. I don't see there is any problem. If all these events did take place in history, when regimes changed, when a new DGP took charge, when a new Chief Minister assumed office after Operation Blue Star, then came a time when things came under control. Why don't we see that side also? When these government officials were found guilty, it's the same government—they gave them the punishment. They sent them behind the bars. That shows our Constitution in a great light.
I haven't even addressed the entire Punjab system. I've simply shown that when power is misused, those responsible are held accountable—and that reflects the strength of our Constitution. If I can't even include that, then what's left of the film? Just the trailer.
You have spent a part of your childhood in Punjab's Tarn Taran, which was the epicenter of the insurgency. How did you conceive the idea for your film? What was the trigger? Any personal experience?
There are so many experiences because I was too young even to decide at that particular time. I was in the 7th standard when we moved out of Punjab and that was not the age for me to decide what I'm going to do. But I remember hearing the name Jaswant Singh Khalra and it was a big name in Punjab. Tarn Taran was also the heartland during that particular time.
Over the period of time, there were certain other personal experiences and what the people of Punjab have gone through, what we have experienced, what we have seen. I used to mention this to one of my very close friends and business partner Abhishek who encouraged me to work on the stories that have roots in my personal experiences.
When COVID happened and I started reading Amandeep Sandhu's book, Panjab: Journey's Through Fault Lines, there is one chapter called 'Laashan' (dead bodies). When I started reading it, these things keep coming back to me. I think this is the time, if I can make a movie about this. Then I started reading other things about Jaswant Singh Khalra including courts orders, official reports, and Ram Kumar's book Reduced to Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab, among other things.
Then one day I spoke to Amandeep and I told him, I have read your book and I want to do a film on this. He was the person who was kind enough to introduce me to the Khalra family. Then I spoke to them and the day I spoke to Amandeep Sandhu that I want to do a film on this—that date was September 6. That's a great coincidence. I was like, okay, let's go ahead and make this. I think there can't be a better day to decide whether I should be doing this or not.
I narrated it to my producers, they loved the subject and the script. I narrated it to Diljit Dosanjh. Diljit came on board even without charging any money. He never asked to be paid a single rupee. He never put any price. Even I wouldn't have been able to afford him because he is on a different level, but whatever we could afford, we just paid a token of respect.
Diljit, who is playing the lead role, has publicly declared that he won't support a censored or sanitised version of this film. What does this mean to you as a filmmaker?
This is very disturbing, disheartening, frustrating. When you don't have freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and we claim we live in a democratic country. Where is the democracy? It's a violation of Article 19. If artists does not have a freedom to express themselves, then what's the point? The people who have a problem, they can come after the artist, they can sue the artist, they can go to the court and let the court decide. Why we are becoming the god and deciding everything on everybody's behalf?
You held private screenings of the film in certain circles in India and abroad. Can you tell us about the reactions?
When the censor was playing so weird I really wanted to understand if I cannot understand their point. I was told some religious sentiments will get hurt and the film can create law and order situation. So, the first thing I started with—let me go to Punjab and show this film to them.
I showed the film to them and they watched the film. They loved the film. They loved it to an extent they went on to put their videos on YouTube and then they approached Akal Takht Sahib and and requested Akal Takht Sahib should watch this film. Akal Takht Sahib made a committee and they came to Chandigarh and they watched the film. They were so moved with the film, they said stop even calling this a film, it's a part of our history which has been documented so well. This has all the chances to go political, but this film only talks about human rights and Jaswant Singh Khalra's martyrdom. It shows our Constitution also in a great light. So we are very happy with the film. Even few people from Punjab told me, if this film will be edited, we will not allow this film to come.
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Even Paramjit Kaur, the widow of Jaswant Singh Khalra, has opposed the Censor Board's demands.
Everybody will oppose these demands when they do not make any sense. In the South, everybody has seen the films. All over India and abroad, around 400 to 500 people must have watched the film. I have not found one person who belives the film has problems, and that's why it is not coming out. It's only the CBFC, they know all the truth.
Finally, what's your vision for the release of Punjab '95 and what core message do you hope audiences in India as well as abroad will take from it?
It's a great story about our history and it's a great story about Jaswant Singh Khalra and his martyrdom and we should definitely learn from these kinds of stories. If we are making a film on Bhagat Singh, we are making a film on Mahatma Gandhi, we are making a film on Sardar Udham Singh, Jaswant Singh Khalra is equally relevant for me and that is my belief. If the films can be made on other heroes, Jaswant Singh Khalra is my hero and I should be allowed to make a film on his life and to show where he comes from and what his mindset was. For me, he's a great man.
I'm very, very hopeful there will be a day when this film will see the light of the day. Something changes. People who are watching the film, the word spreads, probably reaches to the Central government and I can only request the Central government to look into the matter personally and wisely. So, the CBFC or any independent body should not misuse their powers. It's been 30 years. It took 30 years for Jaswant Singh Khalra to come alive in the society again. And he has been abducted after 30 years once again. This time he's been abducted by the CBFC.