New Delhi: Director Honey Trehan told ThePrint that actor Diljit Dosanjh quoted only “Rs 1” for starring in the film Satluj, in which he played Jaswant Singh Khalra.
For Trehan, there was never a second choice for the role of Khalra. Even before he started on the script, he had already decided that only Dosanjh could play the human rights activist.
“Had Diljit not been there, this film would not have existed,” Trehan said, describing the actor as someone with “a clear conscience.”
Satluj, formerly titled Punjab ’95, was released on ZEE5 on 3 July. But it couldn’t withstand the scrutiny and was pulled from the platform within two days.
The film narrates the story of Punjab’s darkest chapters from the 1990s through the lens of the human rights activist. It traces Khalra’s decades-long pursuit of justice for more than 25,000 people who disappeared during Punjab’s insurgency-era crackdowns, many of whom were cremated without their families ever being informed.
The story was very important for Trehan, who revealed that he never considered casting a mainstream Bollywood actor for the part. For him, authenticity was non-negotiable.
“I wanted an actor who knows that world. I was keen on casting a Sardar because if I put a Bollywood actor in the film, the narrative would suddenly become, ‘This actor is playing a Sardar.’ That would’ve been an injustice to Khalra Sahab’s journey and the people whose pain this story carries,” he said.
Whenever he thought about Khalra, Dosanjh’s image would come to his mind. So, one day in January 2021, he called the singer turned actor.
Dosanjh was at the Amritsar airport and was on his way to Mumbai for a couple of hours before catching a flight to the US. Upon Trehan’s request, he came to meet him but for “30 minutes.”
As they began discussing their home state, Dosanjh brought up Khalra and spoke about how deeply he admired him. The actor was totally unaware that Trehan had a script in mind about the activist.
When Trehan finally handed him the research documents, with Khalra’s photograph on the cover and the words “JSK” written across it, Dosanjh was stunned.
“He stood up from his chair, touched the script to his forehead and said, ‘Waheguru’,” Trehan recalled.
The filmmaker said that when he asked Dosanjh about his fee, the singer simply said, “‘How can I charge to play someone like Khalra? It will be shameful.’”
Trehan insisted that a contract required remuneration to be mentioned. To which Dosanjh replied, “‘If you want to pay me for your contract, give me Re 1.’”
The two have known each other for nearly a decade. In fact, Trehan was instrumental in bringing Dosanjh on board for Udta Punjab, the actor’s debut film in Bollywood. Their association, Trehan says, has only strengthened over the years.
“I always gain something from every conversation I have with him. His soul is pure. You don’t find people like him easily,” Trehan said.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)