Do we like Diljit Dosanjh?
Our score: 6 out of 10. A good record on giving back and keeping his cool, held back by an unanswered lyric that critics say uses a slur against trans people.
Diljit Dosanjh is the Punjabi singer-turned-actor who took Punjabi music and film global, and who keeps putting Punjab front and centre on stage. He now moves between Punjabi cinema, Bollywood and stadium tours, and was in the war sequel Border 2 alongside Sunny Deol. The record we could read in full is thinner on his early years than on the last couple of years.
The fresh mess is the song Aroma, released 23 April 2026. On 1 June, the first day of Pride Month, queer creators and others said one lyric used a word that is a slur for transgender people in several Indian languages. Actor and dancer Manish Poonam wrote that “Courage and men don't go along with each other.” As of the early-June reports, he hadn't put out any explanation, and some fans said the lyric was being taken out of context.
That's the harm-test crux, and it's a genuine close call. It's one lyric rather than a campaign, and nothing we found shows him pushing against LGBTQ+ rights, women, migrants or the planet in his own words. But the lyric is on his own track, the critics are the community it names, and silence isn't a great look. A short apology or explanation would change this grade fast.
On the road, 2026 has been tense. At his Calgary show in late April or early May, he stopped the concert over Khalistan flags and told fans “Jitne jhande dikhane, dikhao”, which reports translate as show as many flags as you like. He asked for disruptors to be removed, and Sikhs for Justice's Gurpatwant Singh Pannun then issued a video warning that his group would oppose his US shows. Where you land on Khalistan politics is your business; what he did was back his fans' right to enjoy the night.
The earlier Sardaar Ji 3 stoush was a different kind of heat. He cast Pakistani actress Hania Aamir, and after the Pahalgam attack film body FWICE called for him to be dropped from upcoming projects like Border 2. The film skipped India. He said the film was shot earlier: “When the film was being made, the situation was OK.” Reasonable people differ on the politics, but he didn't throw his co-star under the bus.
The good stuff is real. After the 2025 Punjab floods he said the winnings from his Kaun Banega Crorepati appearance were going to flood relief, and his Saanjh Foundation planned to adopt 10 flood-hit villages. Back in 2024 he also pushed back on Telangana's notice about alcohol songs, saying he doesn't drink himself, though that's a stoush about liquor, not goodness as such.