Hard-hitting story effectively captures a dark chapter
AN INCREDIBLE career has seen Diljit Dosanjh beautifully balance becoming the biggest Punjabi singer on the planet with a thriving acting career in Punjabi and Hindi cinema.
His latest winning move sees the versatile talent step effortlessly into a hard-hitting Hindi language film set in the heart of the brutal 1984 riots, where Sikhs were indiscriminately targeted for extinction after the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi. He portrays a young man, who is caught in the eye of a deadly storm and tries to prevent those around him from getting murdered by vicious mobs. There are challenges, unexpected enemies, a ray of hope and what becomes a battle for survival.
He might be most known for smash-hit songs and sell-out arena tours, but Diljit has delivered another impressive performance to add to his many winning turns on-screen and perhaps his most personal role. He lights up the new Netflix release with an emotional intensity and opens a shameful chapter in history when Indians turned against their own, while being spurred on by those supposed to offer protection.
Writer-director Ali Abbas Zafar delivers a film that blends a human story of survival and friendship with a thriller element. He draws out great performances from the cast and captures the time period well with what is brave filmmaking in the current nationalistic India.
Jogi is a difficult watch, and perhaps more so for Sikh families who were directly affected, but it holds your attention from start to finish. Some distracting flashbacks make the movie lose momentum and there was a definite scope to ramp up the thriller element. That doesn’t stop this stellar effort from being one of the finest Indian movies of 2022, powered by a stunning lead performance and an important story everyone should be made aware of.