‘Won’t advocate it’: Diljit Dosanjh’s Satluj piracy remark faces pushback from Varun Badola | Bollywood News

4 min readNew DelhiJul 13, 2026 01:51 PM After nearly four years of censorship-related delays, Diljit Dosanjh‘s Satluj was released on ZEE5 on July 3. However, it was taken down from the OTT platform within 48 hours. Following the takedown, Diljit appeared unfazed the film being downloaded and circulated, remarking that “everyone has the film downloaded with them.” Now, actor Varun Badola, who plays advocate Ravinder Jais in the movie previously titled Punjab 95, has reacted to the row and Diljit’s pro-piracy remark.
‘Can’t advocate piracy’
During an interview with News18, Varun shared that he had also not watched Satluj and said, “I’ve been seeing videos of the film being screened in villages on Instagram. We keep fighting against piracy. I understand that this situation is very different but I still can’t advocate piracy. I won’t watch the pirated version. That’s a rule I’ve always followed. So, I’ll wait. The only thing we can all do right now is wait.”
The actor also revealed that he had no idea about the title of the film being changed from Punjab 95 to Satluj. “When my cricketing fraternity told me about my look and character in it, I thought they were talking about some other film. When they mentioned Satluj, I told them I haven’t done a film that goes that name. It was earlier called Punjab 95. We were in Belapur for a family gathering when it released. My wife and I thought that we would watch it in due course,” he said.
Varun continued, “But it was taken down in 48 hours. It’s not like I didn’t watch it because they wanted to make and release it in complete secrecy. Each time Honey would ask me to watch it, I never got around to it. I knew ki release toh hogi hi hogi aur tabhi dekh lenge. I’ve a problem watching my own work [so, I didn’t push him too much]. During dubbing, I only watched some of my scenes.”
ALSO READ | Diljit Dosanjh’s Satluj pulled from ZEE5 internationally days after India takedown
‘Robbery under broad daylight’
Varun Badola also called the removal of Satluj from ZEE5 a “robbery under broad daylight.” “It’s not like restrictions weren’t ever imposed on any film in the past. So many Indian films have been banned. Sometimes, the powers that be feel that a course correction is important. Only they know why they decided to ban our film,” he remarked.
Varun further added, “All I can say is that through our film, we put forth a point of view and it would’ve given many people the chance to see that. They’re being deprived. Log jo bol rahe hai ki film iss baare mein hai, puri picture dekhte toh samajhte ki film uss baare mein shaayad hai hi nahi.”Story continues below this ad
‘The film which has public’s support…’
Despite his strong criticism of the film’s removal, Varun Badola admitted that there was little clarity about why it was taken down or whether it would return to the platform. Recalling a conversation with Satluj director Honey Trehan two days after the takedown, Varun shared, “Qayde se unke paas information honi chahiye thi but he had none. Whatever is happening right now is between the streaming platform and government authorities. They must have kept Honey in the loop but I don’t want to bombard him with questions. I know that if he comes to know of something, he’ll let me know.”
Meanwhile, a petition has been filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court against ‘illegal’ public screenings of Satluj in Punjab, while it remains blocked from public access in India. “Jis film ke upar public ne haath rakhi ho na, usko koi rok nahi sakta,” Varun concluded, pointing out at the silver lining of the situation.