Diljit Dosanjh Reveals His Parents Sent Him Away from Home at Age of 11: 'Nobody Asked Me If I...'

Diljit Dosanjh has opened up about his childhood and relationship with his parents in a recent interview. The 40-year-old singer-actor, who was born in the village of Dosanjh Kalan (Punjab) in 1984, was speaking to Ranveer Allahabadia recently when he revealed that he was sent away by his parents to live with a relative in Ludhiana when he was just 11 years old. He shared that he wasn’t even asked about the decision and revealed that it was done to take care of his basic needs.

“I was eleven years old when I left my home and started living with my mamaji (maternal uncle). I came to the city leaving my village behind. I shifted to Ludhiana. He said ‘send him to the city with me’ and my parents said ‘yes, take him.’ My parents did not even ask me,” Diljit said.

Dosanjh mentioned that even though the decision to send him away from home strained his relationship with his parents, he respects them a lot. “I used to stay alone in a small room. I used to just go to school and come back, there wasn’t any TV. I had a lot of time. Also, we didn’t have mobile phones back then, even if I had to call home or receive a call from my parents, it cost us money. So I started becoming distant from my family,” he continued.

“I respect my mother a lot. My father is a very sweet person. He did not ask me anything. He did not even ask which school I studied. But my connection with them broke. Not just with them, with everyone,” the singer added.

From a small town in Punjab, Diljit Dosanjh has come a long way. His songs are globally popular. Currently, the singer-actor is gearing up for the release of his movie, Amar Singh Chamkila. In the film, he will be seen essaying the role of slain Punjabi musician Amar Singh Chamkila. Chamkila, a grassroots singer who ruled street concerts in the ’80s Punjab, was shot dead along with his singer-wife Amarjot in 1988.

Recently, Diljit talked about the movie when he told PTI, “I had to unlearn things and start from zero. It’s a plus point in the life of an artist to do this. It’s tough to start from zero because you often get lost in your own personality and you feel this is who you are (but) the best thing about an actor’s job is that you get the opportunity to start from zero, and I look at this as an opportunity.” The film will be released on the auspicious occasion of Baisakhi i.e. on April 13.