The Good Newwz [2019] actor downplays fears of limited opportunities as a sole lead in Bollywood, but is honest enough to say that he may be lacking certain quality

By Mayur Lookhar

It’s hard to converse with a man of few words. However, Diljit Dosanjh speaks straight from the heart. He often answers in a monosyllabic tone, but there’s nothing pretentious about him.  “Main aisa hi hoon” (This is the way I am), he often says.  It’s no arrogance but the man is simply being himself.  Well, there is dearth of such straight forward people in this world.

Dosanjh will soon be seen in Dharma Productions’ Good Newwz [2019] that is set to be released on 27 December.   He plays a loud but jovial Sikh man Honey Batra, with Kiara Advani playing his spouse Monica. 

This is not the first film that Dharma Productions had offered him. At the trailer launch, Karan Johar had briefly spoken about offering another film to Dosanjh which didn’t materialise.

Given the past experience, the Punjabi actor, singer wasn’t optimistic about his chances in Good Newwz too.

“Karan Johar had short listed me before.  We had two, three conversations, but I wasn’t [picked] in that film.  I thought these people just invite you for talks, but they don’t offer you work,” the Good Newwz actor said casually.

What was his reaction when Dharma called him again?

“They called me second time and I felt it was the same. But my manager Sonali asked me to go.  I remember we had gone to Sony Pictures to turn down Soorma [2018] but I ended up doing that film. But this time I felt they [Dharma] were serious. They gave the full script. I read  the script till interval.  I loved it.  I haven’t laughed as much while reading any script before.  Besides, it had Kareena Kapoor and Akshay Kumar. Karan Johar, too, called me from Delhi and requested that I do this film,” explained Dosanjh.

He tells us that this character is loud and unlike himself. He found the character funny and so he went ahead with it.  But he found Welcome to New York [2018] and Arjun Patiala [2019], funny too, but we all know the fate of those two films.

And Dosanjh didn’t hesitate in saying that Arjun Patiala was doomed from the beginning.  “I found Arjun Patiala [2019] funny,too,  but that film wasn’t made well.   Now if you haven’t made the film well, then there is no way it can work. The audience isn’t stupid,” said the actor.

So, the writing was perhaps on the wall during filming itself, but as an actor did Dosanjh get into the director’s ear to caution him how the film is not going in its intended direction?

“Once you take a stand [sign a film] then there’s nothing that can be done. Once you lose your way, there’s no way back, “ the Good Newwz actor opined.

He’s  a super star in Punjab, but it’s been tough going for Dosanjh as a sole lead in Hindi films.  Going forward, is he worried that Bollywood producers will only be confident of casting him in an ensemble rather than offer sole lead?

“No worries sir, “Dosanjh says nonchalantly.  The actor isn’t one to think ahead.  He continues, “I’m basically a singer. Films just happened.  I have lot of work in Punjabi films/music. I’ve never planned anything in my life.  I have no insecurities. If it is God’s will, then I will get work”

This carefree attitude is fine but Dosanjh acknowledges that perhaps this could be a reason that why he may have missed out on certain opportunities.  Says he, “May be because of this, there are many things that I may not be getting. Perhaps, I may be lacking something which I don’t know about yet”.

Ask him about the trend of remakes and the Good Newwz  [2019]  actor sums it nicely, “You never get the tea right when you cook it in the same vessel again.  You can never recreate the first taste,”