he film is set in October 1984, a couple of months after Operation Blue Star (a military operation carried out on the Golden Temple in June 1984). Diljit Dosanjh as Joginder Singh in this Netflix film directed by Ali Abbas Zafar plays a Sikh who along with his friend, a policeman, Inspector Chautala (Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub), and Kaleem Ansari (Paresh Pahuja) carries out a rescue operation during the anti-Sikh riots in the wake of an Indian prime minister’s assassination by two of her Sikh bodyguards. The film is about how the protagonist, Jogi manages to successfully evacuate Sikhs on his street to safety while anti-Sikh riots rage across the country.

The antagonist is Tejpal Arora (Kumud Mishra), the councillor for Trilokhpuri, a locality in East Delhi, who receives instructions to annihilate all Sikhs in the state. Jogi resides in Trilokhpuri with his family. Unaware of what has transpired, he boards a bus to work with his father and is viciously attacked by the passengers. When he sees his fellow Sikhs being burnt alive and hunted down like hardened criminals, he goes in search of his family, only to discover that his brother-in-law has been burnt alive in his shop.

The police officers receive orders from Tejpal to release all the criminals and arm them with sufficient ammunition to massacre all the Sikhs in the state. Jogi’s friend, Inspector Chautala, rushes to the Gurdwara where Jogi is hiding with his family and members of his community and gives him the news. Although he encourages him to escape with his family, Jogi refuses to do so. The two contact Kaleem who owns a truck company and agrees to help them with the rescue operation. It is decided to transport the elderly and children to safety first.

Diljit is in top form and proves his versatility as an actor yet again. The direction is top notch and the events have been portrayed very realistically.

Jogi agrees to drive the truck and follows the Inspector in his jeep. Although it is a very risky operation but Joginder aided by his friend, manages to transport them safely to Mohali in Punjab. However, on the way, when the Sikhs’ hideout is discovered, the men at the check post who are assaulted by Joginder and his friend, manage to note down the registration number of the truck and inform the police station. Inspector Katiyal aka Lali (Hetan Tejwani), another police officer, strongly suspects Chautala and is absolutely sure that he is responsible for aiding the rescue operation.

Returning to rescue the remaining Sikhs is fraught with risk, especially as the registration number of the vehicle has been noted and traced to the owner, Kaleem. Chautala is instructed to kill Jogi and return with his dead body. Lali, Joginder’s friend turned arch-rival (due to certain events in the past) is hell bent on hunting him and the remaining Sikhs. However, in the end, he has a change of heart and finally comes to the Sikhs’ rescue by bringing the army in to save the Sikhs.

Diljit is in top form and proves his versatility as an actor yet again. The direction is top notch and the events have been portrayed very realistically. The fear and terror amongst the Sikh community in the wake of the riots is very palpable and all the supporting cast does a commendable job. Both Zeeshan and Lali also do justice to their roles. The antagonist, the vile and ruthless politician, in an effort to ingratiate himself with his superiors, presents a big obstacle to the rescue operation. He wants all the Sikhs massacred before the army arrives in Delhi, so that his political ambition (of becoming an MP) is realised.

Jogi is a commendable effort to highlight the plight of the Sikhs during the anti-Sikh riots that broke out in the eighties. Watch it for the superb acting, impeccable direction and a water-tight screenplay.

Recommended.

The writer is an educationist and can be reached at gaiteeara@hotmail.com