Since Thursday, 3 December, Twitter has been flooded with one name — Diljit Dosanjh. The singer and actor is being praised by celebrities, journalists, activists and a host of other people for standing up to Kangana Ranaut for her unsavoury comments on the ongoing farmer protests and Shaheen Bagh activist Bilkis Bano.
Dosanjh is among the numerous celebrities who have extended support to farmers protesting against the Narendra Modi government's recently passed farm laws.
We all got introduced to this bundle of talent through the award-winning Bollywood film Udta Punjab. Let's do a deep dive into Diljit's Dosanjh's very fruitful life.
Who is Diljit Dosanjh?
Born as Daljit in a village in the district of Jalandhar, Dosanjh did his schooling from Ludhiana. His foray into the world of music began by singing gurbani or Sikh hymns, for which he took training in Hindustani-classical music.
Dosanjh released his first album, 'Ishq Da Uda Ada', at the age of 20. That was when he also changed his name to Daljit. The album's title song got its own music video, but a young Diljit looked completely out of place. 'Ishq Da Uda Ada' faded soon after releasing.
However, that didn't stop Diljit from chasing his dreams. He slowly began to gain popularity with his music that revolved around the themes of Sikh pride.
In 2009, Diljit Dosanjh began teaming up with rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh, then among the most prominent musicians who blended hip hop into Punjabi music.
His album the same year, 'The Next Level', was starkly different from his previous works. Singh featured as a brash gangster in the video for the song 'Panga'. After this, Diljit's music began to be characterised by the glorification of drugs, violence etc.
Rise in Gun Violence & Controversy
With the gun culture rising in Punjab, Diljit Dosanjh had landed himself in controversy when he was called out for contributing to it. In March 2018, in an interview with Indianews Punjab, Diljit reportedly lost his cool when the journalist pointed out that a film poster had him pointing a gun. He had said, "How would we get our rights if we were not armed?" Diljit was reportedly referring to the land feuds very common in Punjab.
Later, when film critic Anupama Chopra had hinted at the same in one of her interviews, the actor-singer remained quite evasive.
“This is my profession so I have to make these songs to make money. In a few years, maybe even I wouldn’t want to hear these songs. But I make these songs for the people, not for myself. … When you’re from a middle-class family, you always think, ‘I hope those bad times don’t come back again.’ Once I am feeling secure, and I have other sources of income, maybe I’ll make different songs. But I’m not there right now.”Diljit Dosanjh, Actor-singer
Stepping into Films
In 2011, Diljit Dosanjh made his film debut with Guddu Dhanoa's The Lion of Punjab. Though the movie fared poorly at the box office, Dosanjh’s song 'Lak 28 Kudi Da' (produced by Honey Singh) became the first song by a non-Bollywood singer to top the BBC’s Asian Download Chart.
The singer-actor's first hit was Mandeep Singh’s 2011 romantic comedy Jihne Mera Dil Luteya alongside Gippy Grewal. Both Grewal and Dosanjh were appreciated for their performances.
However, his claim to fame was the 2012 romantic comedy Jatt and Juliet, directed by Anurag Singh. The film was miles away from Dosanjh's image as the Jatt gangster. Instead, Jatt and Juliet showed a much warmer side of the actor and brought out his charm. The film was also part of a revival of comedy writing and films in the region, as per a report by The Caravan.
In 2016, he ensured that he became Punjab’s most bankable star with Ambarsariya and Sardaar Ji 2.
'Udta Punjab' & Diljit's Soaring Popularity in Bollywood
With the release of Udta Punjab in 2016, Diljit Dosanjh was finally placed on the national platform. He slayed the role of a corrupt cop in Punjab and went on to gain widespread recognition with his performance.
After that, he played the titular role and Anushka Sharma's love interest in Phillauri. It was a delight to see Diljit play a folk singer with unbelievable ease and charm.
Diljit has gone on to star in Bollywood films such as Soorma, Arjun Patiala, Disco Singh, and each time he brings something new and refreshing to the plate.
The 'Urban Pendu'
In spite of breaking away from set stereotypes, most Punjabi films and music centre around the male protagonist. The hero is generally someone very comfortable with the native language and almost always struggles to speak in English. He doesn't boast of a number of educational qualifications also.
Dosanjh has described this character as “Urban Pendu”—a term that means a villager, but at times used in a derogatory manner. When asked in an interview with Anupama Chopra as to whether he is an 'urban pendu', Diljit had replied, "I’m definitely the pendu. But the urban part is what I’m trying to be. That is just something where I observe my city friends and young people—what they eat, drink, wear and so on. So the urban part is a bit fake, but there’s a real pendu inside.”
(With inputs from The Caravan)
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