Neha Maheshwri (BOMBAY TIMES; July 21, 2019)

Punjabi superstar Diljit Dosanjh made his Bollywood debut with Udta Punjab, in which he played a cop. Three years later, he is all set for another cop avatar, albeit a funny one, in the upcoming romcom, Arjun Patiala. While Diljit is game for comedy, he has his reservations, too.

He shares, “Ek toh double meaning se bachna chahiye kyunki families dekhti hain ye films. Having said that, I am no one to judge such films, as the genre has its own set of audience. However, being a Sardar and a turbanator, koi uss tarah ka joke mujh par na maare, nahi toh woh sunega mujhse.”

The actor says that Punjabis have the rare quality of being able to laugh at themselves, and believes it to be the best way to make others laugh. “There is no harm in making people laugh by making fun of yourself. What’s wrong is when people derive pleasure from making fun of others. I won’t take up a role (Bollywood), in which someone is repeatedly taking digs at you and you laugh at it. Punjabi mashhoor hai khud par joke maarne ke liye, jo bohot badi baat hoti hai. It’s a huge deal. Agar aap ko hasaana hai, toh apne par joke karo ya koi aisa joke karo jisse saamne wala let down na ho. But since it’s an easy way out, people resort to it,” he signs off.