Punjabi & Bollywood actor Diljit Dosanjh has been grabbing the headlines for the past few days due to his upcoming film Punjab 95. Diljit Dosanjh's upcoming movie Punjab 95 has been under the radar ever since it was announced. Created by Honey Trehan, Punjab 95 is a true story based on the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra. Jaswant Singh Khalra voiced and fought against alleged fake encounters of Sikh youths by Punjab Police when militancy was at its peak in the state. Now, Punjab 95 seems to be embroiled in a fresh controversy as reports suggest that Diljit Dosanjh's upcoming movie has been pulled down from the Toronto International Film Festival screening. For the unversed, in July 2023, the makers announced that Punjab 95 will be screened at TIFF, however, speculation of its removal was raised when a US media portal shared the updated list of movies set to be screened at TIFF. In its list, Punjab 95 was nowhere to be found. Notably, the makers of the movie are yet to comment on the reported snub of Punjab 95 from the Toronto International Film Festival.
Earlier, the movie was titled Ghallughara. Ghallughara is a historic term used to refer to the massacre of Sikhs in 1746, 1762, and 1984. Notably, before the TIFF controversy, the markers had to face the ire of the Censor Board. When the production banner RSVP applied for certification from India’s 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. The decision is pending. Talking about Punjab 95 movie starcast, it also features Bollywood star Arjun Rampal and Suvinder Vicky, who has gained recent popularity through the Netflix crime series Kohrra.
Now, the question arises who was Jaswant Singh Khalra? To know about him, continue reading-
Who was Jaswant Singh Khalra? Diljit Dosanjh's upcoming movie Ghallughara gets A certificate
Jaswant Singh Khalra was a Sikh human rights activist who got global recognition for his research concerning 25,000 illegal killings and cremations involving the Punjab police, and that the police had even killed about 2,000 police officers who refused to cooperate. As per the information available, Jaswant Singh Khalra was the director of a bank in Amritsar, Punjab when the militancy was at its peak in the State. After the infamous Operation Blue Star, the assassination of Indira Gandhi, and the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots, the Police were given the power to detain any person they suspect to be involved in militancy or terrorist activity. During that period, the Police were accused of killing unarmed suspects in allegedly staged shootouts and burning thousands of bodies in order to cover up the murders. Khalra was investigating four similar cases and was collecting evidence against the Police.
In September 1995, Khalra was last seen in front of his house washing his car in Amritsar when he was reportedly abducted. As per official reports, Khalra was tortured at Jhabal police station and shot dead there and his body was disposed of near the Harike Bridge on Sutlej river. He had disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1995.