Diljit Dosanjh swears to keep his songs alcohol-free in Gujarat. Here's why

While Diljit Dosanjh is in no mood to spare the Telangana government for censoring his songs, the Punjabi pop sensation is all praise for the Gujarati government. For the unversed, Gujarat is a ‘dry’ state, meaning consumption of alcohol has been banned there. During his performance in Ahmedabad last evening, he announced his decision to refrain from singing songs about alcohol out of respect for Gujarat's status as a dry state.

These bold statements followed a directive from the Telangana government, instructing him to avoid promoting themes of alcohol, drugs, or violence in his music ahead of his Hyderabad concert. Currently on his Dil-Luminati India Tour, the singer adapted tracks like Lemonade and 5 Taara to align with the guidelines but didn’t hold back from criticizing what he perceived as hypocrisy in the authorities’ stance.

"There's good news. I did not get any notice today. Even today I won't sing any song about alcohol. It's because Gujarat is a dry state," he said.

After receiving mixed reactions from the audience regarding the alcohol ban in Gujarat, he expressed that he would support the Gujarat government if it had indeed implemented prohibition.

He then issued a challenge to other states: "If you shut down liquor shops nationwide, I’ll stop performing songs about alcohol." Reflecting on the pandemic, he noted how everything was closed except liquor stores, adding, "You can't deceive the youth." During his interaction with the audience, the singer even went as far as advocating for a nationwide movement to ban alcohol.

"Let's start a movement. If all states declare themselves as dry state, from the next day, Diljit Dosanjh will stop singing songs about alcohol in live concerts. There's another offer. Declare dry day in whichever place I perform, I won't sing songs about alcohol," he promised.

He also highlighted that Bollywood features countless songs about alcohol and promotes alcohol brands through advertisements. "Bollywood has thousands of such songs. I only have a few, and even today, I won’t perform those. It’s easy for me to modify the lyrics. I don't drink alcohol, but Bollywood stars endorse it—Diljit Dosanjh doesn’t," he stated.

In Hyderabad, where he was requested to avoid singing about alcohol, the singer accused the authorities of applying double standards when it comes to Indian artists. “If an artist comes from outside, they can sing anything, do anything, there are no worries. But when an Indian artist sings, then you have a problem; you have to interfere…” he said.

The ‘Chamkila’ star said that he won’t be letting this (the matter) go.