Chamkila actor Jashn Kohli 'wants to change' stereotypical portrayal of Sardars in Bollywood: ‘I was hurt’

Amar Singh Chamkila's Jashn Kohli recently reflected on the depiction of Sikh characters in Bollywood films. He acted with Diljit Dosanjh in the Netflix film.

Jashn Kohli is riding high on the accolades for Imtiaz Ali's Diljit Dosanjh-starrer Amar Singh Chamkila. The actor plays Amarjot Kaur's brother Papu in the musical biopic made on the life of iconic Punjabi singer. Jashn, in an interview with India Today, admitted that he aspired to being an actor after watching Shah Rukh Khan while growing up. However, he pointed out that it was the stereotypical portrayals of Sardars that made him pursue acting in order to change the narrative. (Also read: Rajkummar Rao, Tripti Dimri and Kartik Aaryan hail Diljit Dosanjh's Amar Singh Chamkila: 'So inspiring')

Amar Singh Chamkila actor Jashn Kohli recently spoke about the stereotypical portrayal of Sikh characters in Bollywood.

Jashn Kohli reacts to stereotyping Sardars

The actor said, “I was hurt and wanted to change the way we are perceived and portrayed in Bollywood. We were either cast as a soldier or the hero's friend. I would speak to writers, who agreed the shortcoming but had no means to change it.” 

He further added, “Recently, Diljit paaji (brother) spoke about how people thought Sardars were only portrayed a certain way, and he changed it. When he spoke those words, it echoed the voice of so many from the community. Even I am on the path to help people see Sardars in a different light from what's been shown all these years.”

 

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Diljit Dosanjh on styling of Sikh characters in films

Diljit Dosanjh essays the titular role in the Imtiaz Ali directorial. Parineeti Chopra portrays his wife Amarjot Kaur in the epic musical streaming on Netflix.

In an interview with Anubhav Bassi for Netflix India, Diljit pointed out at the styling of Sikh characters in Hindi films. He said, “To be honest, I am not fond of clothes or swag. When we were in Punjab, the Bollywood films made at the time… they didn’t show Sikhs properly. So I decided that when I do Bollywood films, I’ll dress better than all Bollywood stylists. I know fashion.”