- Monday, January 06, 2025
During his meeting with the prime minister, the Punjabi singer-actor touched on India’s rich musical heritage and emphasised that music is deeply ingrained in the country’s culture
By: India Weekly
PUNJABI singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh believes India has the potential to host music festivals larger in scale than the globally renowned Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
The artiste shared this vision during his meeting with prime minister Narendra Modi on New Year’s Day at the PM’s residence.
During their discussion, Dosanjh expressed his thoughts on the global music scene, particularly Coachella. “I feel that they have made festivals like Coachella or any other very big. And I believe we can make it much bigger. People travel from all over the world for such festivals,” said the 40-year-old artist.
The meeting also touched on India’s rich musical heritage. Dosanjh emphasised that music is deeply ingrained in the country’s culture.
He reflected on how people, regardless of professional training, often exhibit extraordinary musical talent.
“Whether we are eating food in a dhaba or someone is singing in Rajasthani, the song we listen to is so melodious that I feel like I should stop singing. He is singing such a good song. And I sing professionally, this person is not even singing professionally. And he is singing better than me,” he added.
Prime minister Modi shared that he had been contemplating similar ideas for many years and is currently working on a project to promote India’s creative industries. “Now I am doing it through Waves,” Modi said, referring to the upcoming World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit scheduled for February 5 to 9.
The summit is expected to serve as a global platform for creative talents and highlight India’s potential as a hub for world-class content creation.
“My idea is that we are such a big country, and most of the world’s films are made here. The biggest creative industry in the world is here,” Modi explained.
The prime minister also shared a conversation he had with former German Chancellor Angela Merkel about music in India. “She asked me about music. I told her that in my country, the music before sunrise is different, and the music after sunrise is different. I told her that there are different types of music in India,” Modi recalled.
Dosanjh also spoke about his “Dil-Luminati India Tour,” which concluded on December 31 in Ludhiana. The two-month tour saw him perform across multiple cities, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Chandigarh, and Bengaluru.
“It is the biggest ever tour from India. We performed in so many countries and did so many stadium shows,” Dosanjh said.
PM Modi praised Dosanjh for remaining grounded despite his fame and also encouraged the singer to raise awareness about environmental issues through his shows.
