Punjabi superstar Diljit Dosanjh He opened up about his humble beginnings, revealing how growing up in a financially struggling family shaped his relentless work ethic and ambition to become “rich and famous”.“Despite being one of India’s biggest global artists today, selling out stadiums and arenas around the world, Diljit shares that his musical journey began in 2002 by performing at weddings and birthday parties after the release of his debut album.During an interview on Q with Tom Power, the singer recalled how live performances unexpectedly became his primary source of income.
‘Making money has become an addiction’
When asked about performing at a wedding early in his career, Diljit said, “It’s amazing. There’s a lot of money in that field.”Recalling how it all started, he shares, “My album came out in 2002 and 4-5 people came to my company and said we want to book this guy for a birthday party.”Initially, Diljit was not interested in singing at the birthday party, but since he was under contract, he accepted the booking. It didn’t take him long to realize that album sales alone would not provide him with a stable income.“So when they gave me the money, I thought this is the way,” he says, adding that making money has become “like an addiction.”“I didn’t say no to anyone. If someone offered Rs 5,000, 10,000, 15,000, I said yes. I didn’t say no to anyone. I went everywhere day and night,” he recalled.
Why did he stop performing at weddings?
Diljit explains why he finally stopped accepting marriage ceremonies.According to the singer, some senior artists in the Punjabi music industry belittled her wedding ceremonies and suggested that she was only fit for that circuit.Determined to prove himself, Diljit decided to chart a different path.“I said, ‘OK, I’m not doing the wedding right now. I’m going to start my concert and I’m going to plan the concert,'” he said.
‘Money was important because we had nothing’
Reflecting on his childhood, Diljit admits that his dream of becoming rich stemmed from growing up in poverty.He shared that as a child, he wanted to be both “rich and famous”—someone who was recognized by everyone, even if he didn’t know anyone personally.Although his perspective has changed over time and he now believes “nothing matters”, he said financial security was his biggest motivator while growing up.“Because I came from a poor family. It was like a lower average family. When you got sick you didn’t have money to go to the doctor, so don’t get sick because you don’t have money,” he said. Experience taught him at an early age that “money was important,” pushing him to work tirelessly and seize every opportunity that came his way.Diljit released his latest studio album, Aura, in October 2025. She was recently seen in director Imtiaz Ali’s Hindi film Main Vapas Aunga.
