Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Friends risk their lives to save others; violence, language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Jogi
What's the Story?
JOGI (Diljit Dosanjh) is the title character, a man who acted to help save the lives of fellow Sikhs during a dark and violent period in Indian history only 38 years ago. Twenty million Sikhs live in India -- only 1.7 percent of the population -- with their own religion, practices, and distinctive garb (the men wear turbans). In 1984, India's Hindu prime minister Indira Gandhi sent troops to attack an important Sikh temple, supposedly a stronghold of armed insurgent Sikhs. Soon after, one of her Sikh bodyguards assassinated her. In retaliation, local politicians and law enforcement encouraged and armed vigilante groups to kill Sikhs and destroy their property, killing somewhere between 8,000 and 17,000 Sikhs across the country in a matter of days. The attacks were especially horrific in Delhi, prompting Jogi to take action. At great personal risk, he and his childhood friend Rawinder (Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub), now a police officer ordered to massacre Sikhs, secure a truck to hide Delhi Sikhs and smuggle them through army checkpoints to safety. In the meantime, Indian groups continued shooting, raping, and dousing people and property with kerosene and setting them afire. Hatred, prejudice, discrimination, and the violence they breed are on full display here.
Is It Any Good?
Jogi is a heartfelt telling of this shameful moment in Indian history. Director Abbas Ali Zafar handles the logistical difficulty of mass violence skillfully. But too often it feels as if the director doesn't trust the material. We are moved by the plight of the innocent Sikhs. We don't need long dialogue-free, slow-motion depictions of, well, anything. Jogi realizes he must toss his turban and cut his long hair in order to pose as a truck driver and save Sikhs. Sikhs are being murdered left and right, but the movie comes to a halt as he unhurriedly cuts his hair, seemingly ignoring the death and destruction going on all around him.
Displaying similarly imprudent directorial judgment, a truckload of hidden Sikhs walks to safety, in slow motion. Again, the tension has been painstakingly built by the filmmakers with the aid of a terrific performance by Dosanjh in the lead role and we breathlessly await the rescue of innocent people still in jeopardy, but instead we watch people walking! It's another ill-advised interruption of the movie's otherwise appropriate tone and pace. These, and more, are regrettable disruptions to the riveting and moving story being told.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how the courage of one person can save so many lives. Can you think of other historical attempts at genocide that were blocked to some degree by courageous individuals who risked their own lives?
What kind of person is capable of standing up to unethical or immoral actions?
What support or inspiration does this film offer to kids standing up to bullies at school?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : September 16, 2022
- Cast : Diljit Dosanjh , Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub
- Director : Ali Abbas Zafar
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Drama
- Run time : 116 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : September 26, 2022
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