The star who is not an actor

Punjabi actor Diljit Dosanjh doesn't really believe in breaks. He is itching to be back in India once his little vacation in San Francisco is over. No, he isn't a workaholic. One film a year is what a Punjabi actor generally does. But he loves his job. No matter he still does not understand what his colleagues at the sets want when they ask him to leave room for light; he knows the pulse of his audience well.Maybe that is why he is Punjab's best loved actor and most successful too. His latest film 'Sardarji' has had the best opening ever for a Punjabi language film worldwide.
With 'Sardarji', Diljit has brought a new genre to Punjabi cinema: fantasy. Even if reviews varied from applauding to berating, the film set the tongues wagging and the Punjabi film industry is on a new high. With Day 1 collection of Rs 2.50 crore in India and Rs 1.52 crore overseas, the film has made cinema lovers, film makers and multiplexes ecstatic in an industry that spent the first half of the year praying for a hit. "It was a new genre. It would have either been a hit or bombed at box office. But this opening was unprecedented and exceeded our expectations each day of the first week," he says.
The singer-turned actor's rise to fame corresponds with what is cheekily called Pollywood in this part of the world. When the NRI-centric films with unexciting ideas seemed to choke the industry that had sprung back to life a decade ago, there came a Jatt & Juliet (2012). The movie not only set cash registers ringing but also started a new genre of romcoms here. Diljit was an overnight star. The film spawned a sequel. Romcom has remained the most successful genre so far.
A deviation from his repertoire was 'Punjab 1984', story of a mother, played by Kirron Kher, and her missing son, Diljit, during Punjab insurgency and its impact on social life. The film won the National Award for Best Punjabi film, another high for Diljit.
Even as he wants to try different stuff, he insists romcoms are a tough genre even if they do reek of monotony. "It is not easy to make people laugh. And certainly not easy for a non-actor like me," he says. Now that's called humility, we nudge, but Diljit insists he really can't act. "I need to feel for a character to take it up. I know actors can put up a happy face even when they are sad, but I can't do that. When I was doing 1984, I made a conscious effort to remain in that somber zone for two months. And I had taken up that film only because I had been through those times."
"If you tell me to play a business tycoon, I can't do that. I don't feel like one. I have had a humble life. My father earned just about Rs 4-5,000 per month and my mother managed the household in that. But if I do play a business tycoon some day, I will be happy as I will turn an actor that day!" he says.
Bollywood debut
Having rejected a slew of Bollywood films that offered him clichéd sardar roles, 'Udta Punjab' will finally be Diljit's big break. "When the casting director showed interest in signing me for the film, I asked him about my role. I knew what Bollywood usually wants from sardars. But when director Abhishek Chaubey narrated the story, it was a well cut-out role," he says.
Playing a cop in a film that also stars Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor is Ishqiya-fame director's take on the drug scene in Punjab. And somewhere Diljit feels that the film should have been made in Punjab as the menace ails the state. "The writer researched for 3-4 years on the subject in Punjab. Our industry can't do that right now," he says. However, he insists the film will do something good to Punjab. "It leaves a message without lecturing," he says.
Turban cool
The man who made coloured turbans with white kurta-pyjama cool in Punjab says that he will make sure he is a successful turbaned actor in Bollywood too. "Earlier people would tell me people will not like a turbaned hero, but they did. And my 'Udta Punjab' director is happy he won't have to work on my getup in the film," he laughs.