Diljit Dosanjh: Will stop singing alcohol-themed songs if liquor shops shut across country

After receiving a notice ahead of his Hyderabad concert instructing him to avoid songs related to alcohol, drugs, and violence, Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh responded that he would stop singing alcohol-themed songs if all liquor shops (thekas) across the country were shut down.

The singer-actor responded to the notice sent to him at his show in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on November 17.

Interestingly, Diljit tweaked the words in his chartbusters "Lemonade" and "5 Taara" -- which originally mention 'daaru' (alcohol) and 'theka' (liquor store) in their lyrics as part of his "Dil-Luminati India Tour 2024 Tour". The "daaru" (alcohol) in "Lemonade" became 'Coke', whereas "theka" (alcohol store) in "5 Taara" was replaced by 'hotel'.  

Taking a swipe at the notice, the singer at his Sunday's show told the Ahmedabad audience: "There's some good news. I didn't get any notice today. There's more good news: I'll not sing a single song on alcohol today either. Ask me why? Because Gujarat is a dry state."

The singer said he was a teetotaler and was even willing to take a pledge to not make such songs but the governments of each state should declare themselves dry states.

"Let's do something, let's start a movement. If all states declare themselves dry states, I'll stop singing songs on alcohol from the very next day... I will stop singing about alcohol, you shut the 'thekas' in the country... I take a pledge.

"Is this possible? It's a big source of revenue. Everything was shut in corona (pandemic), except the thekas. You can't fool the youth," he can be seen saying in a video shared on Diljit's official Instagram page.

The 40-year-old also had a word of caution for his naysayers: "Don't mess with me."

"I sing my songs and leave. Why are you messing with me? I have sung over dozens of devotional songs. In the last 10 days, I released two devotional songs but nobody is talking about them. Every person on TV channels is sitting and talking about 'Patiala Peg' (one of his songs).

"There are dozens of Bollywood songs on alcohol. I barely have two-four songs like these. I'll not sing them today either. It's very easy for me to tweak the songs because I'm a teetotaler. Bollywood artists endorse alcohol, Diljit Dosanjh doesn't," he added.

Diljit, also stated, "Declare a dry day on the same day I have my concerts, I won't sing any song on alcohol. I am not a new artist to whom you will say that 'You can't sing this, you can't sing that' and I will say 'Oh, what will I do?' I will tweak the song and it will be as much fun. If Gujarat is a dry state, I am a fan of the state government. I openly support the Gujarat government," he said.

"I want our holy city of Amritsar to also be declared a dry city," he added.

On stage, Diljit was also joined by actor Kartik Aaryan as a special guest.