Banned Film Satluj Screens in Punjab Villages, Drawing Crowds from Dark Times

At 8.30 pm on Thursday, a vacant plot next to the Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Gurdwara in Jangpur village of Ludhiana was packed for screenings of Satluj, with attendees ranging from elderly plastic chair occupants to young boundary wall perches. The film, starring Diljit Dosanjh and banned by the Inter-Departmental Committee due to security concerns, is being shown by political parties including Akali Dal and AAP, drawing crowds who recall the "dark times" of Punjab's militancy era. Despite the ban, screenings continue in villages like Jangpur and Gahour, with organizers serving refreshments during intervals. Attendees discuss their painful pasts, emphasizing the need to prevent such periods from recurring while acknowledging political motivations behind these screenings.