Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; December 26, 2019)

As a performer, Diljit Dosanjh owns every role that he plays. The actor believes in breaking stereotypes. He stands out for his movie choices, his ability to detach himself from everything and everyone, and never wanting to change how he looks for the sake of bettering his career. With his film Good Newwz releasing tomorrow, Diljit had a chat with BT about the change that a film can bring about and what it takes for him to get over an emotionally challenging role. Excerpts:

Your film, Good Newwz, deals with the confusion that arises when two couples undergoing IVF end up with a sperm mix-up. Reports stated that you were not the first choice for the character and also, this is not the first film that Karan Johar offered you. How did you land the project?
Yes, I was not the first choice, there were two-three other actors in contention, but I never took this up with Karan. Kyunki bhale main last choice tha, lekin picture toh maine kar li. Iske pehlewali jiska main first choice tha woh toh mili hi nahin. When I gave the nod to Good Newwz, we fine-tuned the part, so that it suits me. Karan sir had approached me for another film. After that narration, the team didn’t give me that film. This time, when they called me, I thought, ‘Yaar, yeh phir kahaani sunayenge aur kaam nahi denge (laughs!).’ But my manager insisted that I attend the meeting. So, I came to Mumbai half-heartedly. I was prepared ki yeh log toh mujhe film nahi denge. Mujhe bahut bura laga tha ki unhone mujhe woh film nahin di thi, halanki release ke baad, baat buri lagni band ho gayi. Mat poochiye kyun! (laughs!). This time, they just gave the script to me. I heard the concept, which was very cool and then they told me about the cast that was already in place. By the time I reached the hotel in Mumbai, I was done reading up to the interval point. The dialogues, situations and story were so powerful. The project ticked all the boxes for me to say yes. Kiara and I play a lively, small-town, OTT couple.

Often Punjabi characters in Hindi films are shown to be loud and OTT. Do you think that they are stereotyped?
Naa ji! Aisi toh koi baat nahi hai. You find all kinds of characters, including the kind of people Kiara and I are playing in the film. You will find a lot of loud characters in Punjab. There are some who are irritating and some that will make you smile with their humour and generosity. Jaise kirdaar maine dekhe hain na real wale, waise toh picturon mein dikhate bhi nahin hain. They are the kind of people who will drop you to the address if you ask for directions. You won’t easily find such people anywhere else in the world.

Speaking of Good Newwz, people have recently started talking openly about IVF as an option for conception. Do you think films like these can help start socially-relevant conversations?
I hope so! I hope people change their attitude towards a technology like IVF, which has proved to be very helpful for many couples. Akshay paaji’s (Akshay Kumar) Pad Man has slowly and steadily brought in many changes around us. People now discuss things openly and there is more focus on women’s hygiene today. It’s a topic, which is no longer a taboo. Before I took up Good Newwz, I had seen IVF clinics from outside and wondered what do they exactly do. During the making of the film, I figured that it has helped 80-90 percent of couples, who have opted for it. Good Newwz is not a documentary, and we’ve said what we had to in a very entertaining way. Though I have not seen the film entirely, the last 15 minutes focus on family bonding, which will move many people. The climax talks about a family and a couple’s dilemma when it comes to accepting a child who is technically, only half theirs.

Most of your films have had strong emotional content. Do you ever get deeply involved with the characters you play? Actors say that they sometimes need a fairly long break to recover from a character that takes a toll on them emotionally. Do you go through anything like that?
No, I just act the part that I have signed up for, and I never get emotionally involved with my roles. I just need to do a stage show to get over a character that I’ve been playing. I enjoy my time on stage; I dance, sing and entertain people. Once I am on stage, I forget that I am an actor or that I have just worked in a film. I don’t know how this has happened, but I don’t feel attached to anyone or anything. I have always been this way. In our business, people have often told me that this is a good quality to have. So, I have never analysed why I am so detached, but I do realise that my level of detachment is higher than most people. The good part is that when I’m doing something like singing on stage, recording in a studio or acting in a film, I am fully there in that moment, but I completely cut off after my work is done.

Talking of analysis, have you been able to examine what went wrong with Arjun Patiala? Somehow it didn’t connect with the audience…
I felt we had gone off track, but I decided to stand by my commitment. Good content, in any form, works, and what is not good, won’t work. It’s simple. Logon ko samajh nahi aayi, screens nahin mile, marketing sahi nahin thi...there’s no point in saying these things afterwards. I can talk for myself… my mistake was that I agreed to do the film by just hearing the script up to the halfway mark. Uss time pe laga kahani acchi develop ho rahi hai. I don’t ever run away from taking my share of responsibility. Aur koi bhi banda flop picture banane nahi chal padta; cheezein ho jaati hain. Sometimes, even an average performance in a good story works. Sometimes, films may not work monetarily, but they get appreciation.

Today, there is so much focus on an actor’s look and appearance. In Bollywood, you stand out because you are the only turbaned actor…
Before me, there was no hero who wore a turban. There will be more firsts and they will surprise people. If I also had the usual hero kind of looks that everyone else does, I would have become a participant in their race. In my case, main kisi ke peeche nahin bhaag raha, mere pe koi pressure nahin hai aur meri koi limit nahin hain. It’s my own race and I will run it at my own pace.

Moving on…while you’ve been dabbling in films, you haven’t given up your music career. Of course, you devote lesser time to it now. What do you make of the music scene today?
Music is a visual medium now. The entire idea of hits and flops is now dependent on ‘views’. A good song, even with an average video, works. The reason I don’t feel pressurised to make a great video today is that, I do live shows. I’m more occupied with them, they satisfy me more aur gaane live shows pe faayda de ke jaate hain. You earn enough from them. A great composition or lyrics no longer decide whether something is good. What matters is, how much has it been seen.

When I started out, the scene was driven by music sales. Agar aapki CDs biki hain, logon ne paisa kharcha hai aap ke gaane ke liye, toh aapka kaam hit hain. Aaj views ki baat hai, aur woh toh kisi bhi tarah mil sakte hain. As an artiste, what can anyone do about this? I’ve seen it all — albums being cut on cassette to CD, pen-drives and now, on the web. Technology has made it possible for people to bombard their videos. Whether one intends to or not, one ends up viewing certain videos. The question remains: Did the person watching the video like it? Today, it’s so difficult to assess the status of a song. Ab gaana hit ya flop nahin hota, ab gaana sirf web pe hota hain.