Diljit Dosanjh (Punjabi: ਦਿਲਜੀਤ ਦੋਸਾਂਝ; born on 6 January 1984) is an Indian actor, singer, television presenter and social media celebrity[1] who works in Punjabi and Hindi cinema. He is recognised as one of the leading artists in the Punjabi music industry.[2] He also acts in Punjabi movies, with many of them being noticeable hits, including the 2012 film Jatt & Juliet, the 2013 films Jatt & Juliet 2 and “Punjab 1984“, the 2015 film Sardaar Ji, and the 2016 films Ambarsariya, Sardaar Ji 2 and the 2017 Punjabi Film Super Singh – which are counted among the most successful Punjabi movies in history.[3] His first recorded mainstream performance was his solo track and music video Ishq Da Uda Ada from his 2004 album produced by Finetone Cassettes.[4] He made his Bollywood debut with Udta Punjab in 2016 for which he earned the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. He mostly works with White Hill Productions
2012–present: Breakthrough and Bollywood career
Dosanjh continued his collaboration with Honey Singh in 2012 and released a single titled “Goliyan” that formed a part of the album International Villager. He next sang for the soundtrack of the Bollywood film Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya, released in January 2012, in a single called “Pee Pa Pee Pa” that also featured Priya Panchal. He also acted in that music video in the movie. His subsequent single “Bodyguard”, glorified the fall of Libyan revolutionary and politician, Muammar Gaddafi, where Dosanjh sang about his lifestyle, capture and death. His subsequent single “Miss Lonely”, was composed by JSL Singh. In March 2012, he released his first religious album titled Sikh. The album featured eight singles and talked about the principles and philosophy of Sikh religion. Dosanjh played a lead role in June 2012 movie Jatt & Juliet, which became one of the biggest hits in the Punjabi film industry. The award-winning film, directed by Anurag Singh, also featured actress Neeru Bajwa and was shot in Punjab & Mumbai in India and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[12] Dosanjh Diljit won the PTC Punjabi Film Award for Best Actor for the movie. He gave vocals to five of the seven songs in the soundtrack of the movie. The same year in November, he released his eighth album, called Back 2 Basics, with nine tracks and the music composed by Tru-Skool. The duo worked together to produce the incredibly popular “Kharku” which won the “Best Bhangra Song of the Year” award at both the Brit Asia TV Music Awards, and the PTC Punjabi Music Awards.[13] In January 2013, Dosanjh’s third Punjabi film Saadi Love Story hit the big screens. The film, that also starred Amrinder Gill and Surveen Chawla, flopped at the box office. Dosanjh sang for two songs in the movie’s soundtrack, which was composed by Jaidev Kumar. Dosanjh made a guest appearance in the April 2013 Bollywood movie Bikkar Bai Sentimental with his track “Main Fan Bhagat Singh Da”. Inspired by the success of Jatt & Juliet, the producers of the movie released a sequel to the film, titled Jatt & Juliet 2, in June 2013. Dosanjh played the role of a cop in the movie. The film had nine songs in the soundtrack, of which four were sung by Dosanjh. He gave vocals for the track “Main Taan Aidaan Hi Nachna” from the soundtrack of the Bollywood movie Yamla Pagla Deewana 2, which was released in June 2013. In August 2013, Dosanjh’s music video “Proper Patola” was released on Vevo, making it the first Punjabi song to be featured on Vevo.[14] The single, composed by Badshah, received over one million hits on YouTube just within a fortnight of its release. Dosanjh said: “I extend my thanks to all who have liked watching the song. I’m glad to live up to the expectations of all, and with their faith in me.”[15] Diljit shot for his next Punjabi movie Disco Singh, which was released on 11 April 2014. The movie, directed and written by Anurag Singh, also features Surveen Chawla and is shot in Delhi NCR.[16] In 2014, he worked for the movie Punjab 1984, which is set in the backdrop of 1984–86 Punjab insurgency. The film was released on 27 June 2014 and is directed by Anurag Singh. The movie won National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Punjabi.[17] Diljit is only the first south Asian artist who visited the US headquarters of Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram on the same day.[18][19] In 2015, he sang in a duet song in Coke Studio @ MTV Season 4, Ki Banu Duniya Da, with the singer Gurdas Maan[20] which was released on 15 August 2015 and was broadcast on 16 August 2015 on MTV India.[21] Diljit’s second film from 2015 Mukhtiar Chadha was appreciated for his unique role in it.[22][23] In 2015, the Most Sensational Celebrities (MSC) study among most famous people in Pollywood, the riskiest personalities on the web, Diljit Dosanjh was found number one from number five in 2014 thus leaving behind Mika Singh, Gippy Grewal and Harbhajan Mann.[24] With a worldwide collection of ₹996.7 million, the film proved to be a commercial success.[25]
Dosanjh next starred in the social drama Udta Punjab (2016), his first Hindi film. Directed by Abhishek Chaubey, the film deals with the subject of substance abuse in the Indian province of Punjab.[26][27] Co-starring alongside Kareena Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, Udta Punjab generated controversy when the Central Board of Film Certification deemed that the film represented Punjab in a negative light and demanded extensive censorship before its theatrical release.[28] The Bombay High Court later cleared the film for exhibition with one scene cut.[29] Dosanjh also sang the song “Ik Kudi” for the film.[30] In a highly positive review, The Hindu said that Dosanjh was “successful” in delivering a “highly hitting performance”.[31]
As of September 2016, Dosanjh has completed work on his second Bollywood production Phillauri, alongside Anushka Sharma and Suraj Sharma.[32] The film was released on 23 March 2017. It grossed over ₹5 million in its box-office.[33] He’s also working on a film based on world war 1 which will be releasing in early 2018.The yet untitled film will be based on World War I and he will play a soldier in it.[34]