Honey Trehan recently explained the careful plan used to circumvent a tough four-year fight with the CBFC, releasing the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer ‘Satluj’ (earlier called ‘Punjab 95’) directly online on Friday evening, with no cuts. But just about 105 minutes after the talk, the film was gone. The streamer put out a statement saying the title had been removed and would not be available to watch in India “until further notice.”
Honey Trehan on how the secret digital drop was pulled off
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, Trehan shared the details behind the film’s digital premiere. Asked how the entire release was pulled off with such secrecy, with no one having a clue until the notification dropped on Friday, setting off a huge wave of buzz online, Honey explained, “A massive amount of swift operational heavy lifting was happening behind closed doors between RSVP and ZEE. To be frank, a part of my brain had lost faith that it would ever come out. I was praying constantly, but you build a cynical wall. Even at 6:00 PM on Friday, I messaged the team asking, “Is this actually happening tonight?” Apart from the core corporate team, the only person who knew about the drop was Diljit. Right after I pressed ‘Send’ on my anxious text to RSVP, a message flashed from Diljit Paaji saying, “Paaji, it’s really coming out tonight.” It felt like pure telepathy. Massive credit goes to ZEE for pulling this off; I have nothing but monumental respect for how they championed this.”
Honey Trehan on RSVP’s long-standing ties with the OTT platform
On being asked when discussions with ZEE5 actually started, he shared, “ZEE5 has always been a fantastic partner for RSVP. We made Sonchiriya together under Macguffin and RSVP, and Kedarnath was also done with ZEE as a partner, so it’s a long-standing association. It isn’t just about one or two projects; they have deep, long-term business ties, so this transition was smoothly ironed out as part of their broader digital rights arrangements. But initially, we completely intended to release this film theatrically. We wanted it to reach audiences on the big screen. Over time, however, the roadblocks kept multiplying. It was an endless cycle of: “Cut this, delete that, alter this section.” The frustrating part was that I wasn’t receiving any legitimate, logical explanations (from CFBC) as to why these cuts were being demanded.”
Honey Trehan on the final call to go digital
Asked what ultimately pushed them toward the digital route, he said, “The responses we were getting simply lacked legitimacy. We waited, and then we eventually approached the court, but nothing shifted. Over that prolonged period of stagnation, Ronnie [Screwvala] sir, in tandem with ZEE, took the definitive call to go straight to digital. On streaming platforms, you don’t strictly require a CBFC theatrical certificate. When ZEE came on board, they truly loved the film and insisted it needed to see the light of day. In a way, they adopted an abandoned child. The sheer volume of love and global goodwill the film has received since it dropped is overwhelming. I haven’t even had time to take a shower today; my phone has been buzzing non-stop with people reacting to it. Audiences are celebrating this release even more passionately than I am, so it’s incredibly important for me to reply to as many of them as possible.”
