Jogi

A few movies have been made on the communal violence in Punjab following the assassination of Prime minister Indira Gandhi on 31 October 1984 by her Sikh bodyguards. Talented director Ali Abbas Zafar has made an absorbing and emotional movie which moves you in a big way as it unfolds. A good point of the movie is the superb acting of Diljit Dosajnh as a young Sikh ( Jogi) and Zeeshan Ayyub as his childhood friend Inspector Ravinder. Both have given superlative performances which could get them awards .Kumud Mishra has acted well as a local politician. It is difficult to judge how correctly the movie recreates the actual events that took place. ( This can best be done by people who were there during those days.) The movie keeps the audience engaged with the emotions of the characters. However the film has two negative points. One, a backstory about Diljit's tragic romance ( girl friend Amyra Dastur in a cameo), which becomes an unnecessary diversion from the serious plot. It could have been avoided. Two, the climax looked rather too filmy and not a suitable conclusion to the heart wrenching story.

For a movie that went spectacularly for 70% of its time duration, that had so many more truths to show the public, the horrors, the aftermath, the plight of the Sikhs, they ruined it in the last 40 minutes. What was the need to add personal drama? The entire movie felt fictional after that point when you had such an important topic to uncover. Why were there no stats at the end? Were the directors making a movie on a historical topic or a bromance? Why weren't there stats at the end? How many lives were lost during the riots? How long did the army take to intervene and how many survivors did they find. How many people were arrested and what were their sentences. The movie went from a historical drama to fiction based on history so quickly, I would have reshot the last 40 minutes after watching it once. Producers, directors, editors, advisors all at fault for missing their masterpiece.

Whilst I do appreciate these earnest attempts, the problem with 'Jogi' is its shallow scripting. While it did shed some light on the killing of our then Prime Minister Ms. Indira Gandhi, and the unimaginable monstrosities that ensued; I believe that there was a lot more to inquire into. The creators have made their choice to not delve deeper into the core subject, or to talk about any of the deep-seated politics that was involved. They have chosen to constrain themselves inside an invisible enclosure, that prevented them from taking any names of any influential figures or the political parties they associated with, I assume it was to stay away from further disputes and debates. Albeit I wish they had done otherwise. That being said, this movie is still deeply affecting. I cannot fathom the sufferings, the horrors, all the Innocent people had to put up with. Some scenes will terrify you, will make you infuriated, and before you could realize what and why is this taking place, tears will be rolling down, your heart will get heavy, and you will feel devastated by the barbarity. It may as well take hours or even days to recover from what you've just witnessed! Get ready for an emotional roller coaster!

Sauce

Trailer—Jogi