In 1995, Shah Rukh Khan stood amid the glistening mustard fields with his arms spread out as Kajol ran towards him in Aditya Chopra’s now iconic film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ). It was then that the idea that Punjab was all about ‘sarson ke khet’ and the NRIs singing ‘ghar aaja pardesi’ was solidified all across the diaspora. Indians who lived abroad liked to remember their motherland through those rose-tinted glasses, and those living here somehow accepted that this was all Punjab was about. But was it?The recently released (and then pulled down) Satluj, which was previously titled Panjab 95, is set during the same time when Raj and Simran were pleading with Bauji to let them be together. The fantasy was packaged in a filmy way, and the after-effect has been such that the realities of Punjab during this time have been glossed over and forgotten, almost completely. No wonder why none of the authorities wants to acknowledge the horrors that went on in the state, and the activists, namely Jaswant Singh Khalra, who dared to speak up against the atrocities, are actively being erased from the history of the nation.In hindsight, it almost appears that the image of the green grasslands and the glowing mustard fields was like a PR activity to sell an image of Punjab that was miles away from its truth. The package was exported to millions around the world, and continues to be romanticised by those who have never been exposed to the horrors that Punjab has faced in the last few decades. And when a film like Satluj dares to speak about that nightmarish era, it is abruptly shut down by those in power.At this point, it’s not even about who was at the Centre and who was running the state government; it just exposes the rotten system that we, as Indians, have somehow come to accept because there is no scope for rebellion in the land of Bhagat Singh. And those who dare to speak out, like Jaswant Singh Khalra, are bound to have a fate much worse than many who came before him. The ones holding the power might be different individuals, but the treatment given to those who dare to ask the questions is pretty much the same.ALSO READ | Satluj ban: Jaswant Singh Khalra ‘challenged the darkness’ in last speech; real-life story Satluj was previously titled Punjab ’95.Udta Punjab didn’t get a smooth release eitherSatluj isn’t the only film that has dared to speak about the systemic failure that has plagued the state of Punjab. A decade ago, Abhishek Chaubey’s Udta Punjab was met with a lot of resistance and the film’s release was almost jeopardised. The film spoke about the rampant drug problem within the state that continues to destroy an entire generation. Aditya Dhar (and many of his bhakts) might point fingers at Pakistan for the drug problem, but blaming the world for the mess in your backyard doesn’t really solve the problem. In fact, it further raises the question that if you claim to know the cause, where’s the solution?Udta Punjab somehow managed to get a release, Satluj, sadly, was pulled down in two days. It never even secured a CBFC certificate, and was not allowed to screen at international film festivals.Story continues below this adIn the last few years, mainstream Hindi films and shows have started to pay attention to what’s hidden behind the lush green fields of the state. Netflix’s Kohraa, which has had two seasons so far, traces what’s hidden behind the jovial face of a state that is mostly popular for its foot-tapping music. At large, Kohraa is a police procedural, but it doesn’t shy away from admitting that the grimness in the state is the result of the trauma that the locals have been carrying for generations. Amar Singh Chamkila was killed by unknown assailants. Diljit Dosanjh in a still from Chamkila’s biopic.The lawlessness during Chamkila’s timeAmar Singh Chamkila, the biopic of the singer who was assassinated in broad daylight, also starring Diljit Dosanjh, also touched upon the time in Punjab when the state was still struggling with the aftermath of 1984. Chamkila faced heavy opposition from all corners, and his killing by unknown assailants suggested that Punjab was going through a lawless time.Most of the content mentioned above has faced some resistance, and much like Vir Das’s Two Indias, they have constantly been told that they must not speak about the problems that trouble the country, especially in front of an international audience. In a significant scene in Satluj, even Diljit’s Khalra is told by a local politician that he shouldn’t have spoken about the extrajudicial killings in Punjab during his visit to Canada. This speech, which was recorded in April 1995, is now the last recorded speech of Jaswant Singh Khalra, where he provided grave details about the events that were transpiring in Punjab at the time. Diljit Dosnjh (R) plays the role of Jaswant Singh Khalra (L) in Satluj.Jaswant Singh Khalra challenged the darknessIt was here that Khalra spoke about the darkness that had swallowed his surroundings, and the lamp that needed to be lit to fight the oppressors. Films like Satluj are fighting the darkness, and it needn’t be mentioned that the darkness, so far, is making it impossible for every lamp that is lit to survive.Story continues below this adKhalra went missing 30 years ago from the land of ‘sarson ke khet’, but it’s tragic that Punjab, to date, is romanticised for a fantasy that completely divorces its truth.