BORN TO SHINE

THE LATEST shows him rustling up some kind of panjeeri to get energised for his Dililluminati tour of Canada, starting late April.

Although he goes to great lengths to avoid controversy, not giving interviews unless promoting an upcoming film, he doesn’t shy away from taking a stand. He did so during the 2020 farm agitation when he simply said that he supported the farmers. Anurag remembers how he was hunting in vain for producers when he set out to make Punjab 1984. “Diljit said, ‘don’t worry, I am with you all the way’.’’

An intensely private person, little is known about his family but friends say his wife is an American-indian and they have a son, and his parents live in Ludhiana.

Prof Paramjit Singh Judge, a sociologist whose book on Punjabi singers is under publication, says while Diljit may not have brought a paradigm shift in Punjabi music like Amar Singh Chamkila or Sidhu Moosewala, both of whom also wrote their own songs, he is a likable package. “After Moosewala’s death, he’s become the biggest superstar of Punjabi music and the fact that he’s a good actor adds to his appeal.” Be it Do you know main tainu kinna pyar karda or Lamborghini te kite launda phire gediyaan, Diljit sings in the acceptable idiom.

He makes no pretensions of originality or exceptionalism. “I want to make music that my audiences like,’’ he says. He is equally dismissive about his acting prowess. “Every Punjabi can act.”

Mandeep Singh Sidhu, a film critic with arguably the largest collection of Punjabi music and films from 1928 onwards, says what’s most remarkable about Diljit is his enduring humility. “Be it a spot boy, a star or a fan, he treats everyone with equal respect, he doesn’t have an iota of attitude. And he is as god-fearing today as he was when he started out.’’

Anurag attributes this “purity and innocence” to his connect with audiences across the barriers of language and geography. But the humility hides a razor-sharp brain, a deep sense of his roots, and an audacious ambition founded on faith. Jaggi says he’s never seen an artiste whose dreams were so big. “That breadth of vision sets him apart from others.’’ While other Punjabi artistes like Moosewala may have also collaborated with Western singers, it’s Diljit who’s making them rock in Punjabi.

A shrewd businessman, Diljit has been producing his own albums since 2013 and has a film production house as well. In 2022, he signed a partnership with Warner Music to “amplify his global music career.”

So it’s only fitting that he gets to sing the three magical words — Main hoon Punjab

(I am Punjab) — in Amar Singh Chamkila.

Diljit is Punjab, all that’s wholesome about it. And he remains a Beeba Munda.

IN SYNC Diljit Dosanjh with director Imtiaz Ali on the sets of Amar Singh Chamkila