Long before he forayed into Bollywood, Diljit Dosanjh had already become a sensation in the Punjabi entertainment industry with numerous pop songs and hit films to his credit. Yet the actor-singer’s most striking trait is his modesty. “I’ve never wished for people to recognise me or anything,” says the 34-year-old star in this interview (conducted entirely in Hindi). But becoming inconspicuous is next to impossible for the star, who has close to a two-decade-long career that has amassed loyal fans.
It’s nearing eight at night, which is late enough to schedule a set of interviews, but Dosanjh squeezes them in amidst the release of his upcoming album, CON.FI.DEN.TIAL and his latest Bollywood venture — Chakri Toleti’s comedy, Welcome to New York . I almost expected to meet a lively and jocund Dosanjh who looked straight into the camera and asked Kanye West to increase the stock of his Yeezy shoes in an interview with Anupama Chopra. But the actor-singer seemed quieter and understandably exhausted.
What remained constant through Dosanjh’s chat with The Hindu was his deep sense of gratitude at how far he has come. In Chopra’s interview, Dosanjh muttered “ Waheguru ” when she mentioned he’s called the “King of Punjabi Cinema”. His gratefulness goes beyond being solely thankful; it manifests itself in his agreeable demeanour. Now, his answers stay firmly rooted in a space of humility. For example, while discussing why audiences love parodies, he says, “I don’t know anything special [about what makes parodies work]. It’s our work, and we [actors] do our work”. Or take for instance how he explained that as an actor he just needs to choose a script, and beyond that, he says, “The film is the director’s.”
The upcoming release, in which he stars opposite Sonakshi Sinha, will be Dosanjh’s third Bollywood film, after playing corrupt cop Sartaj Singh in Abhishek Chaubey’s Udta Punjab (2016), and local singer Roop in Anshai Lal’s fantasy-comedy Phillauri (2017). Dosanjh will be seen in his first out-and-out comedy film with Welcome to New York — a parody mocking everything Bollywood in good humour. From Karan Johar playing himself and his evil twin, Arjun, to poking fun at Sholay (1975), Baahubali (2015) and Johar’s own classic Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) among other Bollywood superhits, Toleti seems to be angling the mirror towards the industry for some laughs.
Dosanjh and Sinha play an aspiring actor and a fashion designer — two talent show winners who travel to The Big Apple to participate in the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards. Dosanjh thought it was a novel idea to make a Bollywood film on an event as large as IIFA, and was most excited about the huge ensemble cast. But he admits to being surprised about one detail: “They told me that we were shooting a film at IIFA, and I wondered how that could be possible.” The actor-singer then not only performed at last year’s IIFA Awards, but also shot for the film there with the rest of the ensemble cast. And with a smile he adds that there is a little of everyone from the industry in the upcoming comedy.
The film is a first on many fronts. It’ll be the first shot at the IIFA Awards, the first Bollywood comedy released in 3D, and director Chakri Toleti’s first Hindi enterprise. Toleti has directed megastars Kamal Hassan and Ajith Kumar in hits like Unnaipol Uruvan (2009) and Billa 2 (2012). And the Punjabi superstar was not entirely familiar with Toleti’s work. One wonders if Dosanjh ever felt like he was taking a risk with this set of firsts. “Well, even I had a first in Hindi films, and someone had also taken me then,” pat comes the response. “So if someone can take a risk with me, then even I should work with new people,” he states simply.
At this point the conversation moves to the actor-singer’s journey from a middle-class family to how he carved out his path to superstardom. The actor says he never strategises or calculates his choices, “If it sounds good I do it.” He adds with a laugh that sometimes his films do a lot better than he expected.
While the unassuming actor-singer seems like he chooses to go with the flow, Dosanjh admits that being a star singer was his only dream as a child. “If it didn’t happen,” he shares, “I would’ve got a place in [my friend’s] factory. They made cycle parts.” He then softly adds that he can’t even think of turning away from his singing and acting today. With Welcome to New York and the release of his next album being less than a week apart, Dosanjh won’t have to.
