'They have abducted Jaswant Singh Khalra again. The fight is to rescue him'

Honey Trehan, film maker, in conversation with Pranati A S

In the early hours of September 6, 1995, human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra was abducted from his home in Punjab’s Amritsar. Khalra had exposed police brutality in the state during the insurgency period when the police were empowered to detain suspected terrorists. According to reports, CBI investigation concluded that Khalra was tortured and brutally murdered. His body was never found. Filmmaker Honey Trehan, in his film ‘Panjab ’95’, poignantly and powerfully documents the events that led to the abduction of Khalra. 

When his dead friend’s mother goes missing, Khalra (played by Diljit Dosanjh), a bank employee begins to look for her, only to discover that the police had unlawfully cremated 2,097 bodies as unclaimed. 

Today, the film inspired by Khalra’s life faces extensive changes demanded by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). This mirrors Khalra’s own struggle for truth and justice. The CBFC has demanded over 127 cuts and has also asked the team to change the title for the third time. 

Trehan was in Bengaluru, last week, for a private screening of his film. He spoke to DH about all that transpired since December 2022, when he submitted his film — called ‘Ghallughara’ at the time — for certification.

l The film’s title has changed multiple times.

It was initially called Ghallughara, which means massacre.
The CBFC wanted the name changed. I had Panjab ’95, and it was mutually agreed upon. After the selection at
the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the film’s popularity grew.
Now, the CBFC has asked for a resubmission with over 127 cuts and a
new title. 

l What is the CBFC saying right now?

We assume they want to give us the certificate. Perhaps the CBFC doesn’t want this issue hanging on their head that they stopped the film of a martyr. But if the producer decides to release the film with the cuts, I don’t want my name on it, and neither does Diljit. I don’t want to compromise history for my own interests. 

l They don’t want names of places like Tarn Taran mentioned?

The first three crematoriums Khalra visited, Tarn Taran, Durgiana and Patti, can be found in all legal documents — NCRC and court documents. Khalra’s speeches are still on YouTube. 

Some of the words they want removed are ‘Canada’, ‘desh’, ‘Punjab’, ‘government’, ‘system’, ‘Indira Gandhi’ and any mention of years like ‘circa 1984’ and ‘1995’. They also want all flags, including the Indian flag, removed. Why? Is Punjab not a part of India?  These cuts are unacceptable. By changing the names of these places, the truth is being altered. What is CBFC scared of? Why do they want history changed? When the film is based on a real person, how can they demand his name be changed? 

l There are also a lot of numbers listed… 

Khalra initially found records of 2,097 illegally cremated bodies. And soon he found out that the numbers had gone up to 6,017. The final estimated number he arrived at was 25,000. They want all these numbers removed. These numbers find mention in all legal documents. The film cannot even carry ‘inspired by true events’. We’re even asked to remove ‘Punjab’ from Punjab police. They’re cops wearing turbans; in which other states do cops wear turbans? Another cut, which is hurtful of Punjabi sentiments, is removing the Gurbani (sacred hymns) from the entire film. 

According to the Cinematograph Act, one revising committee cannot watch a film more than two times. But my film has been watched seven times by the same committee. The revising committee also asked for proof of the events in the film. I submitted a compilation of over 1,800 pages. They watched the film again. After the third viewing, the head of the committee remarked, ‘Who speaks the truth so loudly?’ 

l Explain the timeline of all that happened.

We submitted the film for a CBFC certificate in December 2022. We had to wait till May 2023. They earlier gave 21 cuts. In June of the same year, we approached the Bombay High Court opposing these unreasonable demands. By mid-July, news broke that the film will be screened at TIFF along with 12 other films from across the world in the Gala Presentations category. By the end of July, it was quite clear that the court would rule the case in our favour. The same evening, my producer got a call from the higher authorities in power. 

To my surprise, I was told that we will not be fighting in the High Court anymore. Not just that, the producers were also forced to withdraw the film from TIFF. I didn’t understand; for any international festival, we don’t require a censor certificate. Then why was the film stopped?  

l Why did you want to make this film? 

Because it’s the story of a great martyr. There are very few who can live as selflessly as Khalra did. He could’ve taken asylum in Canada or in London. When the Canadian intelligence told him that he may get killed if he went back, he said he cannot betray the people who were already betrayed by the government. His martyrdom is equal to Bhagat Singh’s. If we can make films on Bhagat Singh and Gandhi, why not on Khalra?

l This happened during the Congress government’s tenure; the BJP government’s reluctance is not clear…

They probably don’t want a real-life hero from a minority. Do you think we can make films where the protagonist is a Muslim? Have Muslims not sacrificed for the independence of India? Similarly, perhaps we cannot have a real-life Sikh hero too. In many Hindi films, characters inspired by Muslims are now being changed to Hindu. 

l What’s the way forward? 

I’m hopeful that the film will see the light of day. I’m doing a few private screenings. I had a great reception at Cannes.  I want to say this very clearly: the CBFC is becoming a backdoor entry for the people in power to control and change the narrative of films according to their politics. They have abducted Jaswant Singh Khalra again, and my fight is to rescue him.