Punjabi star Diljit Dosanjh. Photo: IIFA Festival New York
Punjabi actor and musician Diljit Dosanjh continues his expansion in the West. This Monday, Jun. 17, Dosanjh will appear as guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, promoting his ongoing Dil-Luminati tour through North America.
Dosanjh drops by the late-night talk show’s New York set, and will be speaking to the comedian in what is likely to be a one-of-a-kind conversation between a globe-trotting Indian artist and a well-followed American public personality. The Punjabi artist shares the Monday night billing with the likes of actor-comedian Eddie Murphy and actor Matty Matheson, recently seen in the drama series The Bear, which has a third season coming up.
In his caption going with the announcement, Dosanjh wrote about his appearance in a way that echoed his salutations when he made his historical debut at Coachella last year. He said on Instagram about Fallon, “Panjabi aagye oyee This week’s guest Bhangra hun mainstream pena Proper Hollywood.” (Punjabis have arrived! This week’s guest, Bhangra is now going mainstream. Proper Hollywood.)
Dosanjh is appearing on Fallon on the back of receiving heavy spotlight in the U.S. after Coachella, plus collaborations with artists like Australian pop star Sia (“Hass Hass”), American rappers Saweetie (“Khutti”) and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and NLE Choppa, among others. He told Rolling Stone India in a previous interview, “These songs are all done and they’re going to keep coming out one by one. The first song with Sia is out, ‘Hass Hass,’ the song with Saweetie came next (‘Khutti’) and the one after that is the song with NLE Choppa and then the one with A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie. These are singles and I tried collaborating with all these folks and the songs will keep coming out gradually.”
Closer home, he sang the hook on New Delhi rapper Ikka’s “Jagga Jatt,” which also features rapper/singer Badshah on Ikka’s album Only Love Gets Reply.
On the acting front, Dosanjh drew acclaim for his portrayal of Punjabi music outlier Amar Singh Chamkila, in the biopic of the same name directed by Imtiaz Ali, plus Punjabi movie Jatt & Juliet 3 alongside actor Neeru Bajwa (releasing on Jun. 27).
Currently in the U.S., Dosanjh kicked off his Dil-Luminati tour in Vancouver at BC Place stadium, in what played out as a record-setting performance for an Indian artist, filling over 54,000 seats. Dosanjh carried on through Canada and the U.S. in May, and will next perform on Jul. 10 in Los Angeles’ Crypto Arena, followed by a show on Jul. 13 at Toronto’s Rogers Centre.
