Ali Abbas Zafar on casting Diljit Dosanjh in Jogi: ‘We were lucky that we found him…’

Netflix recently celebrated its 25th anniversary and announced a slew of films and television shows, including Zoya Akhtar’s The Archies, which stars Suhana Khan, Agastya Nanda and Khushi Kapoor among others.
Speaking about the film, Zoya said, “I am super excited about the film. I didn’t know that it’s the first film adaptation. There is a massive fan following of the comic and with Riverdale coming out on Netflix, the pressure is huge pressure. It is the first, coming out if India and I am making it. So we are working harder and am really excited.”
Talking about creating a fictional town she said, “When I was asked to do it, we wanted it to be more like the old comic, and wholesome. We wanted to retain the essence, the names and even vibes and character. It’s quite Western but set in india. It’s based on the Anglo Indian community, in the hills of India. It’s very comic-book, but based in India.”

Zoya also said that she was ‘obsessed’ with the friendships in the film, and said it was all about shenanigans and what the friends do together. On why she chose such a subject, she said, “This was offered to me. It’s also closest to my heart. It was the only comic about kids, others were about superheroes. I have grown up reading the comic in the 80s, and it’s very close to my heart.”
Another exciting project is Jogi, Ali Abbas Zafar, which stars Diljit Dosanjh. “The film will be based on the 1984 riots. Talking about making Jogi, Ali said,  “It’s a film based in reality and on a real event. It was a very important subject and needed to be told in an authentic way so that it looks real. We were lucky that we found Diljit. It was important and it made the story more justifiable. We shot the film in the pandemic, during the first lockdown in Delhi and Punjab. We are quite happy with what we have created.”
He further continued, “I come from DU, and if you’ve lived in Delhi, you come to know of any stories from around. The reason to tell this story was to show how we can find hope in time of chaos. It’s a very relevant story and it will always remain so. We wanted to tell stories about the Sikh community and brotherhood in the most honest way.”