Being a native Punjabi artiste, never thought I’d sing at Coachella: Diljit Dosanjh – Times of India

Being a native Punjabi artiste, this offer is something I could’ve never imagined coming my way. I have followed the Coachella festival every year. Honestly, when I accepted their offer last year, it just felt like a personal achievement until Sonali (his business manager) told me how people were reacting to this news on Wednesday. That’s when it dawned on me that this isn’t just my success, it’s now an achievement that belongs to everyone here.

Since it’s an international event, would you be bringing a certain kind of music for the diverse audience?

I will sing my Punjabi number for them, like always (laughs). We also listen to songs whose language we don’t understand. It’s about the sounds and today we all know that sound has no barriers, courtesy the internet and social media.

You are adding grandeur to your performances like international artistes do. Is that a strategy?

That has always been intentional, right from the day I started out by singing in weddings and village fairs. I would wonder why our presentation isn’t at scale with international performers. Gradually, I learnt that it’s because we don’t have the money. Punjabi songs don’t earn as much as international songs because of their global language. I had made up my mind that the moment I became financially secure, I would go all out and fulfil this dream. What I am doing is not a wise financial proposition, but I spend everything I earn on making my presentation grand.

Your choice of films of late seems to be veering towards serious subjects like Chamkila, Jogi…

After Good Newwz I was offered a few comedies, but they didn’t excite me at all. I didn’t see myself in them. I want to give time to my music and don’t want to just sign films for the heck of doing a job. Yes, I do one Punjabi film a year and that is to ensure that people know that I have not migrated to the Hindi industry permanently. As for Chamkila, I always wanted to work with Imtiaz Ali after I had composed a song in his film. I did Jogi because of Ali Abbas Zafar. These aren’t just directors, they are teachers.