Diljit Dosanjh: “Akshay Paaji Has Brought Pride To The Sikh Community”

Punjab’s  biggest star-actor  Diljit Dosanjh is all praise for Akshay  Kumar  for bringing such magnificent  pride to  the  Sikh  community with his  portrayal  of  HavaldarIshar Singh in Kesari.

Says Diljit, “Though Akshay  Paaji is  not a Sikh he has done  a great service  to  our community by bringing  Ishar Singh’s  story  on  screen. All of us know  about Ishar Singh’s heroism. To  play him on screen  is a matter  of  great  pride and  responsibility for  any actor. Akshay Paaji has brought to life this great Sikh hero. Our community  will thank him for  many many generations to come.”

 Diljit  feels he couldn’t have played  IsharSingh  with the same  impact.  “Of course  I’d  love to play a great Sikh hero. But I don’t think I’ve the  experience or  the audience to  pull it off.  It  was  very  important  for  audiences outside Punjab to come into theatres  to see the story  of  this great man called  Ishar Singh who  defended  our country with 20  of his soldiers  against thousands  of  invaders. Aisa koi karta hai  kya? The  film needed   a star  ofAkshay Paaji’s stature  to  make it look convincing.”

Diljit is glad Akshay played  the  part but  Diljitlooks forward to playing  a real life Sikh hero. “It would be my pleasure. See, the role ofIshar Singh was  meant to be  played by Akshay Paaji. The film was being planned  for many  years  .I think Ajay Devgan was  supposed  to play  Ishar Singh at one  point.Likewise I hope  I  play one of  our national heroes at  some  point, like I played the  hockey champ Sandeep Singh in Soorma.It made me feel  proud of  our country.”

Making the whole  experience of watchingAkshay Kumar play Ishar Singh more pleasurable  is  the fact that  the  director is  a friend of  Diljit. “Anurag Singh has directed me  in several Punjabi  films . In fact one of my best roles was in  Anurag’s Punjab 1984. We will soon be doing another  film together.”

 Coincidentally  Diljit is currently working with Akshay Kumar  . “That’s right. AkshayPaaaji and I  are shooting  for Good News  which is  produced by Karan  Johar’s DharmaProductions who  are also the  producers  ofKesari.I am learning so  much from  AkshayPaaji. Shooting with him is like going on a picnic. He makes  even the most difficult scene look easy. I  want people in  the entertainment industry  to think of me with the same respect and affection that they have  for Akshay Paaji. Some day I hope it will happen.”