Diljit Dosanjh: Sardar with Swag

By Sandeep Goyal | INDIA |

Authentic. The one word that describes Diljit Dosanjh better than any other. Why? Because Dosanjh is the first Sikh actor to wear a turban on screen in Bollywood … and carry it off with pride, and dignity.

Even in Punjabi films, heroes have over the years shunned the turban to broadbase their appeal, especially with the non-resident Indian Diaspora.

Dosanjh broke that mould in the incredibly successful Punjabi blockbuster Jatt & Juliet in 2012, playing the hero as an authentic turbaned Sikh; he stayed with the pugree in Udta Punjab and continued to wear it as the ‘other’ Batra in Good Newwz, almost outshining the more snooty and urbane ‘real’ Batras, Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor Khan.

His performance in Soorma was just what it was supposed to be: Euphoric highs of meteoric success alternated against heart-rending pain. A dramatic performance. With the turban well in place.

Dosanjh has been as much in the news recently for his championing of the farmers’ agitation in Delhi (including a Rs 1 crore donation ‘quietly’ made for the farmers to buy warm clothes), as also for besting the irascible Kangana Ranaut in a Twitter spat, with the likes of Mika Singh, Angad Bedi and Harbhajan Singh egging him on.

Gurdas Maan, in fact, chose to partner him to sing his epic Ki Banu Duniya Da at Coke Studio some years ago; no mean tribute to Dosanjh, the singer, and rising star. He is hot today.

Read full story, ‘Diljit Dosanjh: Sardar with Swag’ (Rediff, 25 Dec 2020), here.