Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, ‘Jogi’ is a Hindi feature film, which explores the suffering of the Sikh community in the national capital after Gandhi’s assassination.
Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, ‘Jogi’ is a Hindi feature film, which explores the suffering of the Sikh community in the national capital after Gandhi’s assassination.
Diljit Dosanjh’s upcoming film “Jogi” is based on the 1984 anti-Sikh genocide, an incident the actor-singer insists should be called a “genocide”.
Violence erupted in Delhi and other parts of the country after the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984. More than 3,000 Sikhs were killed across India. Most were killed in Delhi.
Dosanjh, who was born in January, said, “We should not call it a riot, the correct word is genocide. When there is a two-sided fight between people, it is a riot. I think it should be called a genocide.” In the same year, told PTI in an interview.
Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, “Jogi” is a Hindi feature film, which explores the suffering of the Sikh community in the national capital after Gandhi’s assassination.
Dosanjh, who played the lead role in the film, said that the film is a “collective” sequence of real-life events that happened in 1984.
The 38-year-old actor said that deeply traumatized remains a part of the community.
“Not that it happened to one or a few people. I know it happened collectively, with all of us. If I talk about some incidents, it will be personal. We are talking about it collectively in the film. I’ve been hearing about it since I was born and we’re still living with it.”
“Jogi”, which will be available on Netflix from Friday, is billed as an exciting and emotional journey of the fighting spirit of three friends played by Dosanjh, Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub and Hiten Tejwani.
The filming process was also an “emotional” experience for Dosanjh, who plays the happy-go-lucky man Jogi, whose world is turned upside down as he sets out to save people, including his family, in adverse times.
“We all have heard so many stories and we couldn’t believe that something like this can happen in life. But, anything can happen. This is not a new story. This film too is talking about the same things. It’s what we grew up listening to.” The actor said an attempt has been made to spread positivity with “Jogi” and believes the film will leave a “different impact” on everyone.
“Whatever has happened is in front of everyone. We have always given a message of positivity. Like in a gurudwara, when you seek blessings and then when you are part of a langar where everyone sits together to eat, it is a message of positivity.”
“We all should be aware of history. Cinema is a medium where we make light-hearted and funny films. But we should do films on such subjects from history also.”
Kumud Mishra and Amyra Dastur also play pivotal roles in “Jogi”, produced by Zafar along with Himanshu Kishan Mehra.