Censored Cut
A weekly newsletter and short audio podcast that covers one controversial Indian film per issue — what it depicts, why it was delayed, who objected, and what the underlying real events were — starting with Punjab '95 / Satluj, then Udaipur Files, Madras Cafe, Article 15 and others.
Indian cinephiles and current-affairs readers who watch news but want deeper film-and-context coverage
- Each issue profiles one film: the real events, the CBFC cuts, the legal battles, and the political context in plain language
- Side-by-side timeline of the real events vs. what made it into the released film
- Reader Q&A — readers submit questions about cases they hear about and the next issue covers them
- Audio version under 15 minutes per issue for commuters
The pattern of delayed releases, OTT removals and pre-release objections has accelerated since 2024, and Satluj's ZEE5 removal is the freshest example — there's a clear appetite for trackers that explain what is actually being cut.
Satluj/Punjab 95 removal from ZEE5 drew coverage from BBC, India Today, News18, Brut, Free Press Journal and triggered a government panel — strong attention around this specific event, but no evidence of a paying audience specifically seeking a tracker/weekly newsletter rather than one-off viral news reads.Why a Diljit Dosanjh film vanished from streaming after two days ↗Explained: Satluj controversy, ban in India and link to Punjab ↗
The "It's Not You, It's..." podcast (Substack) already devotes a full episode to Indian cinema and censorship with Anna MM Vetticad, and generalist outlets (Brut, Fear of Stairs, Logical Indian) cover the same beat — the niche of "one banned Indian film per issue" is largely unserved as a format but adjacent coverage is real.Indian Cinema and Censorship: Featuring Anna M. M. Vetticad — It's Not You, It's... ↗Indian Film Censorship Decoded: Swear Words, Sex, and Sanskar | Fear of Stairs ↗
Indian film criticism (Vetticad, Baradwaj Rangan, Film Companion) is overwhelmingly free on YouTube/Substack; no evidence of subscribers paying for a recurring banned-film tracker, and Substack paid conversion in India for niche news remains weak.Indian Cinema and Censorship: Featuring Anna M. M. Vetticad — It's Not You, It's... ↗
OTT removal/censorship is an ongoing, government-policy-driven story (Section 69A committee, CBFC 125-cut saga, frequent OTT pull-downs) with a long historical backbone, so recurring material is likely for years.Satluj film Zee5 takedown: High-level government panel examines content under Section 69A ↗
A weekly newsletter + short audio episode about one already-public Indian film needs only research, writing and basic recording — fully bootstrappable as a solo creator with a Substack/Substack-podcast stack.It's Not You, It's... on Apple Podcasts ↗