British Asians react to Diljit Dosanjh starrer film, Jogi, after its Netflix release

Image by Netflix

Jogi, a film directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, best known for films like Tiger Zinda Hai, Sultan and Bharat, released on Netflix last week and has been a trending topic since.

As more people watch the movie, it became clear that a topic as controversial as the 1984 anti-Sikh riots was handled with care, without going overboard in spreading hatred or propaganda towards any community.

So far, the subject had usually been depicted in Punjabi movies, making it the first Hindi-language film to feature the events that have gone down in history as the one of the darkest in the country.

After India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards following Operation Blue Star to remove Damdami Taksal leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and its followers from the buildings of the Golden Temple, a wave of anti-Sikh riots were seen across New Delhi.

Sikhs, including the elderly and children, are attacked and murdered everywhere including the streets, at their workplaces and even in their own homes. Independent sources claimed that between 8,000 and 17,000 Sikhs were murdered, while the government estimated 2,800 deaths in Delhi and 3,350 deaths across the country.

The movie, starring Diljit Dosanjh as the titular character Jogi revolves around a Sikh neighborhood of Delhi, where a local councilor and corrupt police officers are plotting to murder them for personal and political gain following Indira Gandhi’s assassination. Jogi helps the people of his village escape before they are killed.

Given the spectacular performance by Dosanjh and thoughtful story writing by Sukhmani Sadana and Ali Abbas Zafar, many British Asian fans who watched the movie could not help but shower praises upon the movie.

One fan wrote on Twitter, “Jogi is a must watch, every Sikh who survived 1984 Sikh genocide is still suffering from injustice done to an entire community.”

Another fan shared a video of the ongoing unrest between Muslims and Hindus in Leicester and wrote, “It’s very easy to put blame on Congress/BJP, but is there Congress or BJP in UK?

“Watch this carefully what is happening in Leicester.

“How these men ganging up and attacking innocent people on the roads, and compare that with the #Jogi and what they did with Sikhs in 1984.”

A fan praised Dosanjh’s hard-hitting performance and for highlighting the injustice faced by Sikhs writing, “Watching #Jogi by @diljitdosanjh. He is bringing Sikh issues to mainstream, it’s in the Top 10 films being streamed in the UK. It’s so traumatic to watch, respect to #DiljitDosanjh for highlighting the trauma faced by Sikhs during #Neverforget1984 #neverforget84.”

The Sikh Council UK also mentioned on Twitter, “#Jogi by @diljitdosanjh explores the Sikh genocide that was planned, organised and executed by @INCIndia workers, government officials & the police with the blessings of other political groups in November 1984. #sikhgenocide #MustWatch.” Jogi starring Diljit Dosanjh, Kumud Mishra, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, among others is now streaming on Netflix UK.