Neeru Bajwa to Dr. Zeus: Lesser known facts about your beloved Punjabi celebrities

Singer-composer-lyricist Badal made his official debut into Punjabi music world this year by collaborating with Dr. Zeus and Raja Kumar in the song ‘Vamos’. Thereafter he released two singles ‘Trip’ and ‘Puro Puro’, and now the artist presented a romantic EP ‘Masterpiece’. The EP includes three tracks, one title song along with ‘Love At First Sight’ and ‘Ik Vaari’. In a recent interview with ETimes, Badal revealed that he made the title song ‘Masterpiece’ during his school days, and initially he dedicated the same to himself.

“Back in those day like all other teenagers, I was also a little into myself. So the original draft had the lyrics, baby I am a masterpiece. However, when I thought to bring it on musical front, I changed the same and dedicated it completely to the girl saying baby you are masterpiece.”, Badal concluded.

Punjabi celebrities are highly lauded for their work in the industry. But there's more to your loved stars than what is presented on the camera. There are a lot of facts about the Punjabi artists that their fans are unaware of. Here's an attempt to bring you closer to your loved Punjabi celebrities by unveiling the lesser known facts about them.

The Bollywood queen Kareena Kapoor Khan was said to inspire millions of mothers when she refused to let her pregnancy be an excuse for a professional break. Well, if Bollywood has Kareena, Pollywood has Neeru Bajwa. In the movie ‘Channo Kamli Yaar di’, wherein Neeru played the role of a pregnant woman, the actress was actually carrying a baby in her womb. While reeling it on the camera, Neeru Bajwa was really 8-months pregnant.

Jimmy Sheirgill is one of the most loved Punjabi celebrities. He has been seen in a turbanned avatar for a lot of movies, but the actor otherwise has short hair. However, a lot of people do not know that Jimmy actually sported a proper Sikh turban until he was 18. In one of his interviews with TOI, he said, “I wore a turban till I was about 18, till it became really difficult for me to manage washing and wearing one in a hostel. Of course, it was many other things too but I asked my dad casually on one of his trips to my hostel and decided to cut my hair one day. Not just my parents, but my entire family did not talk to me for a year-and-a-half properly after that except for my one uncle who had also cut his hair before me.”

Ever wondered about the story behind the stage name of Baljit Singh Padam? Well, before you scratch your head, we are talking about Dr. Zeus. Yes, Baljit Singh Padam is the real name of the Punjabi singer and music producer Dr. Zeus. This a lot of people might know, but what might catch your attention is the story behind Baljit Singh’s stage name. In a recent interview with TimesofIndia.com, Dr. Zeus said, “Baljit Singh is the name given to me by grandparents. When I was a kid, during playtime me and my friends used to come up with fancy names like Zeko and all. Something that’s cool. So likely, the name I chose for myself was Zeus, little did I know it will catch up. Later then I got to know that Zeus is the Greek god, so in my DJ days, I used to shout it out. Zeus, King of all DJs.” Further, talking about the prefix of Dr. he told us that it was added to his name because he was a great fan of Dr. Drake.

The fluency with which actress Mandy Takhar speaks Punjabi, it’s hard to believe that the girl was born and brought up in England. However, in a recent interview with TimesofIndia.com, she unveiled the secret behind her perfect Punjabi accent. She said that she was sent to weekend Punjabi school by her father so that she could learn about the culture and language. Thus, Punjabi was always a part of her curriculum.

The ‘Soch’ fame singer-actor Harrdy Sandhu was earlier known only for his sweet voice, and later when he transformed from fat to fab, he became the talk of the town for his looks. And he didn’t just stop there, Harrdy then gave some really peppy dance numbers that became chartbusters and showed him in a completely different light. But singing has not been his first career choice; before going down the lanes of music, Harrdy was a cricketer. He played cricket for 10 years, was a part of the U-19 team with Shikhar Dhawan. He wanted to represent India, but sadly, an elbow injury in 2006 changed everything. He went overseas for the treatment, but nothing really worked out for him. Well, certainly destiny had some other plans for him.

Owing to his knack for comedy, Binnu Dhillon has done some of the most iconic roles. He has always been praised for his effortless acting. But do you know that acting wasn't his first love? Before falling for the camera, he fell for bhangra. In fact, he was an international level bhangra performer. This dancing fever caught him during his college days. In an exclusive interview with TimesOfIndia.com, he said that he was four times gold medalist in bhangra and he was so passionate about it that he couldn't think of anything but the respective folk dance form.