Satluj

Satluj is an important film with a conscience and enough craft to avoid becoming a sermon. It is sincere, unsettling and necessary. By remembering the disappeared, it refuses the comfort of neat closure.

SATLUJ brings a deeply disturbing true story to the screen

Despite its length – 163 minutes, and not all of them necessary – Satluj is a gripping, tension-filled affair. The film is admirably measured in its outrage and powerfully performed across the board. Trehan's understanding of the circumstances that encourage the killing spree, as well as his clarity on human rights and moral probity, make Satluj one of the sharpest political films in recent memory.

Satluj is a gripping docu-drama that revisits Punjab's darkest chapter through the story of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra. Honey Trehan's restrained direction and Diljit Dosanjh's career-best performance make this an emotionally powerful, thought-provoking watch despite a slightly slow middle act.

Satluj arrives not just as a period drama, but as a fearless, contemporary warning. Despite running over 160 minutes, narrative tension doesn't slacken. The runtime feels earned as the screenplay undergoes mutation from an immersive procedural to a high-stakes thriller with an unexpected layer of dark humour. Diljit delivers a restrained, internalised performance that uncovers the absolute best of his acting craft.

What elevates Satluj beyond historical reconstruction is its refusal to simplify the conversation. The film acknowledges Punjab's trauma during the militancy years without using terrorism as an excuse to legitimise every abuse committed in response. Satluj offers a more difficult proposition, reminding us that asking questions isn't anti-national and that human rights aren't obstacles to security but safeguards against power becoming unanswerable.