Days after being taken down from Zee5, director Honey Trehan’s Satluj has faced another setback, with IMDb (Internet Movie Database) removing the film’s user rating from its portal. On Tuesday, Satluj, featuring actor Diljit Dosanjh was listed as the highest-rated Indian film on IMDb with a 9.5 rating, but by Wednesday, the rating had disappeared from the platform.
Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta reacted to the development on X and questioned the credibility of IMDb’s ratings. He wrote, “Rated 9.5 till yesterday. Gone today. Not that I ever trusted or believed in IMDB ratings. But this proves how bogus they are (sic).”
Satluj co-writer Niren Bhatt metioned that he was also unaware of what led to the rating being removed. “We didn’t know when the film was going to be released, and we didn’t even know when it was taken down. And now this IMDb rating we don’t know who had a problem with it, what the problem was, or why. There was simply no communication,” he said, in an interview with Hindustan Times.
Bhatt had earlier criticised what he described as a lack of transparency around the film’s prolonged release struggle. Speaking to Variety India, he said, “I feel someone in the establishment has a massive problem with it, but the real issue is the complete lack of communication. For years, it has just been pure stonewalling. There is pin drop silence from the CBFC. They will not tell us what their problem is, which parts offend them or who is making these calls.”
The writer added, “Even now, Zee5 issues a statement about ‘current developments’ but cannot explain what those developments actually are. If there is a problem, let us have a dialogue. But how can you have a dialogue when they just silently remove your work?”
Responding to claims that the film could be weaponised by “anti-India forces” or international elements, Bhatt rejected the argument. He said, “That argument simply does not hold. If The Kashmir Files can exist, if The Kerala Story can exist, why can they exist without being labelled tools for international forces? Why is our film the chosen one that will suddenly be misused by extreme elements? You cannot jump to far-fetched, paranoid conclusions just to suppress a straightforward biography. It makes absolutely no sense.”
Before it was pulled, Satluj earned immense critical acclaim. India Today gave the film a glowing four-star rating in its review, praising its restraint and writing. It read, “For years, the film itself became a story of censorship before audiences could even judge it as cinema. But strip away the politics surrounding its release and what remains is something far more haunting—a deeply humane story about memory, accountability and one ordinary man who refused to let thousands disappear twice.”
Satluj also features actors Arjun Rampal, Kanwaljit Singh, Suvinder Vicky and Geetika Vidya Ohlyan in key roles.
– Ends
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.indiatoday.in ’
