Diljit Dosanjh recalls singing at weddings, parties for Rs 10,000: ‘I am from a poor family’

3 min readNew DelhiJun 30, 2026 07:25 PM IST

Diljit Dosanjh opened up about his childhood in a new interview.

Diljit Dosanjh is one of the most renowned Indian artistes all over the globe, and frequently sells out packed shows at some of the largest arenas in the world, but this journey for the singer started back in the early 2000s when started singing at weddings and birthday parties soon after his first album released. In a new interview, Diljit opened up about experiencing poverty in his childhood and said that they were very aware that they couldn’t afford to get sick because they did not have any money to get the treatment, and it was during that time that he realised that he had to earn a lot of money.

‘Making money is like an addiction’

During a chat on Q with Tom Power, Diljit was asked about the time when he performed at weddings. “It’s amazing. There’s so much money in that field,” he shared. When asked how he started performing at weddings, Diljit shared, “My album came in 2002 and 4-5 people came to my company and said we want to book this guy for a birthday party.”

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At first Diljit was not interested in performing at a birthday party but since he was under a contract, he couldn’t refuse. Soon after, he realised that even though he was a singer, he did not have a direct revenue stream that would earn him any money. “So when they gave me the money, I thought this was the path,” he said and added that making money was “like an addiction.” “I didn’t say no to anybody. If someone offered Rs 5,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 15,000, I said yes. I didn’t say no to anybody. I went everywhere day and night,” he shared.

When asked why he doesn’t perform at weddings anymore, Diljit shared that a few senior artistes from his industry did not appreciate his shows and implied that he was just made for them. To show that he was capable of doing much more, Diljit decided to put an end to this. “I said, ‘Okay, I am not doing wedding shows now. I am going to start my concerts and I am going to plan the concerts,” he said.

‘I came from a poor family’

In the same chat, Diljit said that from the very beginning, he knew that he wanted to be “rich and famous”. He explained that he wanted to be someone who was known by everyone, yet he knows nobody. He shared that while he knows better now, and realises that “nothing matters” but as a child, he really valued wealth.

He explained, “Because I came from a poor family. It was like a below-average family. If you got sick, you wouldn’t have money to go to the doctor, so don’t get sick because you don’t have money.” This taught a young Diljit from an early age that “money was important.”

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Diljit Dosanjh’s latest studio album Aura released in October 2025. He was recently seen in Imtiaz Ali’s latest Hindi film Main Vaapas Aaunga.