Diljit Dosanjh Recalls Growing Up In Poverty, Wanted To Be ‘Rich, Famous’: ‘Couldn’t Afford To Go To Doctor’

While Diljit Dosanjh is now a popular and successful artist, filling stadiums and headlining concerts around the world, his journey to success has not been easy. The singer-actor recently opened up about growing up in poverty, revealing that his family often couldn’t even afford to visit a doctor. Speaking during an interview on Q with Tom Power, Diljit recalled how financial struggles shaped his outlook on life and pushed him to work relentlessly. Recalling his childhood, he said there were times when falling sick wasn’t an option because his family simply didn’t have the money for medical care.

Diljit Dosanjh Recalls Performing At Weddings, Parties

After releasing his debut album in 2002, Diljit discovered that live performances would become his main source of income. Although he was initially

reluctant to perform at birthday parties and weddings, he eventually embraced every opportunity that came his way. “It’s amazing. There’s so much money in that field,” he said.

Recalling how he started taking up gigs, he shared, “My album came in 2002 and 4-5 people came to my company and said we want to book this guy for a birthday party.” While he wasn’t interested in singing at birthday parties, he was under contract, so he accepted the bookings. Soon, he realized that album sales alone wouldn’t provide him financial stability. “So when they gave me the money, I thought this was the path,” he said.

“I didn’t say no to anybody. If someone offered Rs 5,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 15,000, I said yes. I didn’t say no to anybody. I went everywhere day and night,” he added.

The singer explained that his determination was driven by his childhood experiences. Growing up in a financially struggling household, he dreamt of becoming both “rich and famous” because he understood the value of financial security from an early age.

Diljit also revealed why he eventually stopped performing at weddings. According to him, some senior artistes in the Punjabi music industry looked down at his wedding performances and suggested he was only fit for that circuit. Instead of letting the criticism affect him, he decided to chart a new path by focusing on organising his own concerts.

‘I Came From A Poor Family’: Diljit

Diljit also recalled that he wanted to be ‘rich and famous’ and recalled growing up in poverty. He said that while his perspective has changed now, he recalled that financial security was his biggest motivation while he was growing up.

“Because I came from a poor family. It was like a below-average family. If you got sick, you wouldn’t have money to go to the doctor, so don’t get sick because you don’t have money,” he recalled.

On the work front, Diljit was last seen in Imtiaz Ali’s film Main Vaapas Aaunga, which also starred Naseeruddin Shah, Vedang Raina and Sharvari. It was released in theatres on June 12.