Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has praised director Honey Trehan’s recently released film Satluj, calling it “not a film, but a deep wound that will never heal.”
In a post on X after watching the film, Varma said Satluj revisits “one of the darkest chapters of our history” and described it as cinema that confronts difficult truths rather than offering conventional heroism.
“Just saw SATLUJ and it is not a film, but a deep wound that will never heal. It stirs up the sludge in one of the darkest chapters of our history,” Varma wrote.
Just saw SATLUJ and it is not a film , but a deep wound that will never heal. It stirs up the sludge in one of the darkest chapters of our history
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) July 7, 2026
This is cinema used as confrontation , where @diljitdosanjh acts with a quiet fury with no chest thumping heroism.. His only weapons…
He praised actor Diljit Dosanjh’s performance, saying the character is portrayed with “a quiet fury with no chest thumping heroism,” while actor Arjun Rampal adds “layers of moral rot in the institutional complicity.”
Varma also credited Trehan for avoiding sensational treatment of the subject.
“Director @honeytrehan, instead of sensationalising the horror, unfolds the film like a slow burn investigative thriller through bureaucratic files, cremation records, and hushed conversations,” he wrote. “This restraint makes the brutality of the subject matter hit that much harder because it explodes with the force of truth and not exploitation.”
Satluj is inspired by the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Kalra, who is believed to have documented alleged extrajudicial killings and disappearances during Punjab’s militancy period.
The film was released on Zee5 on July 3 but was taken down about 48 hours later. In a statement, Zee5 said Satluj would be unavailable in India “until further notice” in light of current developments. The platform said it remained committed to exploring “every appropriate avenue through due process” to bring the film back to audiences.
Varma referred to the issues surrounding the film’s exhibition and publication, arguing that art that makes powerful institutions uncomfortable has fulfilled its purpose.
“My appeal to all the powers is, please don’t do to SATLUJ what has been done to JASWANT SINGH KALRA,” he wrote.
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