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He is number one in the UK list of top 50 Asian celebrities in the world, has headlined arenas in the UK, US and across Europe as part of his sold-out Dil-Luminati world tour, and recently strutted the Met Gala carpet in an ivory-toned turban.

But despite Diljit Dosanjh’s stellar status, the Punjabi actor-singer has been caught in a cultural and political row that has halted the Indian release of his latest movie, Sardaar Ji 3.

The horror-comedy came out internationally on 27 June and is well on its way to becoming one of the highest-grossing Punjabi-language films of all time. But it has been denied a release in Indian cinemas, where it has been deemed controversial because of the nationality of the film’s co-star, Pakistani actor Hania Aamir.

The militant attack in Kashmir on 22 April reignited India-Pakistan tensions, and as a result the Indian government mandated the removal of all digital content originating from Pakistan. Sardaar Ji 3 was filmed in the UK in February 2025, well before the attack, but the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) – a film industry workers’ union – urged India’s Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to deny the film a release certificate on the basis of Aamir’s nationality.

In its first week, Sardaar Ji 3 earned 336m rupees (£2.9m) overseas, a stellar performance for a non-Hindi movie, and recorded the biggest opening for an Indian film in Pakistan.

Experts such as film producer and distributor Girish Johar say the film would probably have doubled those earnings had it been released in India, especially with a crowd puller like Dosanjh as its star.

Celebrated Indian film-maker Anurag Kashyap, a vocal opponent of censorship, argues that Dosanjh is “India’s biggest cultural ambassador”. He adds: “The ones objecting to the film are simply badge-wearing patriots trying to win some extra brownie points with those in power. And Diljit, being as visible and loved as he is, is an easy target.”

Kashyap argues that the outrage surrounding the presence of a Pakistani actor is a smokescreen. “It’s not about her presence – it’s about ideology. Anything that challenges the majority’s narrative is blocked.” The refusal to release Sardaar Ji 3 sends a clear message, he says. “The bigger the financial loss, the more afraid people will be to dabble in non-populist storytelling.”

Asim Nawaz Abbasi, editor of the Dayspring, a Pakistani youth-focused newspaper believes withholding the film may be backfiring. “The controversy has intensified interest in the film in Pakistan. It feels like the film is being talked about even more, almost like people want to watch it because it was blocked in India.”

Dosanjh remains undeterred, continuing to celebrate the film’s global success, even resharing an Instagram video of Pakistani audiences breaking into applause.

Sardaar Ji 3 is not the only Dosanjh film to be put on hold. Panjab ‘95, a Punjabi language biopic of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, has been locked in a censorship battle since director Honey Trehan first submitted the film for certification to the CBFC in 2022. The film traces the life of Khalra, who exposed the extrajudicial killing of more than 25,000 people in Punjab by security forces and his subsequent abduction and murder.

Trehan’s script was vetted to flag any politically sensitive content. “Law firms then advise producers to omit parts that might invite backlash, post which the producer greenlights the film,” he says, adding that the state’s repeated stalling of the film eventually killed its release prospects.

“It started with CBFC suggesting 21 cuts. Then it went on to 37, 45 and 85. The committee had viewed the movie seven times already, making fresh cuts each time, raising the number to 127. That’s where I drew the line,” Trehan says. “They demanded I change the protagonist’s name – on whom the very biopic was based – followed by removal of all references to Punjab and images of flags. What was left of the movie?”

“The goal of India’s censor board is to not just censor the film but tire the film-maker,” he adds.

BBC

‘No popular decisions’

Andrea Gibson, a celebrated poet and performance artist who through their verse explored gender identity, politics and their four-year battle with terminal ovarian cancer, has died aged 49.

Gibson’s death was announced on social media by their wife, Megan Falley.

Gibson and Falley are the main subjects of the documentary Come See Me in the Good Light, which won the Festival Favorite award at the Sundance film festival and is scheduled to air on Apple TV+ later this year.

“Andrea Gibson died in their home (in Boulder, Colorado) surrounded by their wife, Meg, four ex-girlfriends, their mother and father, dozens of friends, and their three beloved dogs,” Monday’s announcement reads.

The film, which explores the couple’s enduring love as Gibson battles cancer, is directed by Ryan White and includes an original song written by Gibson, Sara Bareilles and Brandi Carlile. During a screening at Sundance in January that left much of the audience in tears, Gibson said they didn’t expect to live long enough to see the documentary.

Tributes poured in Monday from friends, fans and fellow poets who said Gibson’s words had changed their lives, including writers Cheryl Strayed and Elizabeth Gilbert. Many LGBTQ+ fans said Gibson’s poetry helped them learn to love themselves. People with cancer and other terminal illnesses said Gibson made them less afraid of death by reminding them that we never really leave the ones we love.

In a poem Gibson wrote shortly before they died, titled Love Letter from the Afterlife, they wrote: “Dying is the opposite of leaving. When I left my body, I did not go away. That portal of light was not a portal to elsewhere, but a portal to here. I am more here than I ever was before.”

Linda Williams Stay was “awestruck” when her son, Aiden, took her to hear Gibson perform at a bar in San Francisco a decade ago. Their poetry was electrifying, lighting up the room with laughter, tears and love. Gibson’s poetry became a shared interest for the mother and son, and eventually helped Stay better understand her son when he came out as transgender.

“My son this morning, when he called, we just sobbed together,” Stay said. “He says, ‘Mom, Andrea saved my life.’”

Gibson’s poetry later helped Stay cope with a cancer diagnosis of her own, which brought her son back home to St George, Utah, to help take care of her. They were delighted when Gibson accepted their invitation to perform at an event celebrating the LGBTQ+ community in southern Utah.

“It was truly life-changing for our community down there, and even for our allies,” Stay said. “I hope that they got a glimpse of the magnitude of their impact for queer kids in small communities that they gave so much hope to.”

Gibson was born in Maine and moved to Colorado in the late 1990s, where they had served for the past two years as the state’s poet laureate. Their books included You Better Be Lightning, Take Me With You and Lord of the Butterflies.

Colorado governor Jared Polis said on Monday that Gibson was “truly one of a kind” and had “a unique ability to connect with the vast and diverse poetry lovers of Colorado”.

The comedian Tig Notaro, an executive producer on the documentary and Gibson’s friend of 25 years, shared on Instagram how the two came up together as performers in Colorado. Hearing Gibson perform for the first time was like witnessing the “pure essence of an old-school genuine rock star”, and their words have guided Notaro through life ever since, she said.

“The final past few days of Andrea’s life were so painful to witness, but simultaneously one of the most beautiful experiences of all of our lives,” Notaro said. “Surrounded by real human connection unfolding in the most unlikely ways during one of the most devastating losses has given me a gift that I will never be able to put into meaningful words.”

Gibson’s illness inspired many poems about mortality, depression, life and what happens next. In the 2021 poem How the Worst Day of My Life Became My Best, Gibson declared: “When I realized the storm / was inevitable, I made it / my medicine.” Two years later, they wondered: “Will the afterlife be harder if I remember / the people I love, or forget them?

“Either way, please let me remember.”