Jaswant Singh Khalra's family condemns CBFC's demand for 120 cuts in Punjab ’95

On October 3 Paramjit Kaur Khalra the widow of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra issued a statement condemning the Central Board of Film Certificationrsquos CBFC demand of nearly 120 cuts in Punjab rsquo95 Lending her support to Honey Trehanrsquos directorial venture that ldquoupheld the legacy of Shaheed Jaswant Singh Khalrardquo she appealed to the Prasoon Joshiled body to ldquonot attempt to change proven facts depicted in the filmrdquo This came on the heels of midday breaking the story of how the CBFC has doled out more than 100 changes in Khalrarsquos biopic which include renaming the protagonist and the film dropping references to Tarn Taran and Punjab and removing religious elements like the Gurbani Cut cut till you edit history Sep 25Paramjit Kaur Khalra with her late husbandrsquos portraitmidday contacted Paramjit who expressed her disappointment that Punjab rsquo95mdasha biopic that sheds light on Khalrarsquos role in investigating the disappearance and killings of Sikh youths during the Punjab insurgency between 1984 and 1994mdashhas been stuck with the censor board since December 2022 ldquoI feel this is not a critical issue it is being made one on purposerdquo she said speaking to us from the US ldquoThere is no problem because the film is based on facts and everything is in the public domain The courtrsquos hearing and decision were based on those facts The film we have seen is the one we want people to see If the film is not shown it could cause public outrage However if the right version is released it will benefit both the public and the governments creating this environmentParamjit Kaur Khalra and Navkiran Kaur KhalraThis film is about standing by the truth and what is right What happened in this story is something no one will dare to repeat in the future Perhaps it will expose some people This is the first time the public will see how Mr Khalra was captured and killed The more you try to hide the truth the more it will come out So this will benefit no one Punjab understands Mr Khalrarsquos point and the leaders do too Hiding the truth is a systemic policy but itrsquos just a Google search awayrdquoPunjab rsquo95 sees Diljit Dosanjh step into the shoes of Khalra who had disappeared in September 1995 Ten years later six Punjab police officials were convicted for his murder Trehanrsquos film not only examines the dark chapter of Punjab but also raises questions about the activistrsquos murderKhalrarsquos daughter Navkiran who resides in the US said that they were initially reluctant about a movie as they knew it would face severe opposition ldquoAnyone who is active in the civil rights and human rights struggle doesnrsquot have any faith that the Indian government or the higherups will allow the facts to be shown We had this skepticismrdquo she recalled It was Trehanrsquos methodical approach and determination that made her believe that her activistfatherrsquos story would reach the audience ldquoWe watched the movie last year He stayed true word for word to what he had committed to in the script It was exciting that it was going to the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023 But all of a sudden the censor board and the Bombay High Court case came in and the movie had to be removed from the film festival That was heartbreaking Recently the CBFC came back with 120 cuts and the instruction of changing the name Then itrsquos no more a biopic right Itrsquos complete slaughter Punjab is not allowed to show its version of the history that happened and that has been proven in the Supreme Court Our lawyer Mr Bains gave Honey all the facts and court documents Honey studied the news archives All the incidents depicted in this movie are true The only fictionalised part is the way of storytellingrdquoNavkiran is clear that the family wonrsquot accept the CBFCrecommended changes ldquoWe want the film that was shown to us and the one that we agreed with Honey to be shown to the public YouTube already has these videos documents and documentaries by other human rights activists Itrsquos also a bad precedent in terms of art where filmmakers have to comply with the government thatrsquos in power If India is trying to become a superpower it should set themselves against the US standards We have seen movies made on Iraq after the Iraq war they were critical of the US governmentrdquoThe wait continuesDirector Trehan and producer Ronnie Screwvala were to meet the CBFC last month and discuss their reservations against the nearly 120 changes But the CBFC has yet to meet the makers A source revealed ldquoThere is radio silence on the film We have heard that a new Revising Officer will be assigned soon but there is no official intimationrdquo Trehan and Screwvala are said to be frustrated over the delay in receiving certification as they had hoped to release the film this year They have a pending deal with an OTT platform after it releases theatrically