(From top) Rapper Honey Singh’s concert at the Kingdom of Dreams in Gurgaon was a sellout; Gippy Grewal, the voice behind the famous Angrezi Beat song in the film Cocktail, is now busy doing a flurry of Punjabi films; Diljit Dosanjh, one of the biggest superstars of Punjab, is composing as many as 10 Hindi songs for Bollywood

It’s a two-hour drive from Jalandhar, past Phagwara and finally down a narrow, dusty untarred road to Garh Shankar. This little town in Punjab is the unlikely location for a state-of-the-art music studio where Punjabi pop singing sensation Miss Pooja is recording her next album. Nattily dressed in slacks and a comfortable tunic, the feisty 31-year-old gushes: “My fan base in Punjab is huge. I did a show in Pathankot some time ago and the crowd went berserk. Luckily the police stepped in.”

Miss Pooja has been described as the Shakira of Punjabi pop. And she has now picked up a fan following around the country after her hit debut in Bollywood with the song Second Hand Jawaani in the movie Cocktail. She’s already a rage on Punjabi music channels and her live shows are sold out weeks in advance. And, if that isn’t enough she’s scheduled to make her screen debut in a Punjabi movie Pooja Kiven AA. Says Pooja: “I am excited about my acting debut. Since my video albums are popular in Punjab, I thought of trying out acting too.”

Cut to Ludhiana where singer Diljit Dosanjh is unwinding in his high-tech office. It’s clear that he spends a lot of time here when he’s not doing shows in India and abroad. It’s dinner-time and he digs into the Punjabi staple dish of chicken curry that he pairs with bread. Diljit says in a mix of Punjabi-Hindi: “I have a show in Jalandhar tomorrow and then I am off to Mumbai. It’s hectic these days.”

A new band of Punjabi singers is hitting the big time like never before. They’ve conquered the hearts and minds of young Punjabis and are now being wooed by Bollywood, which has decided that there’s nothing like a Punjabi song to liven up proceedings on the screen. “Nowadays many scripts are woven around Punjabi households. So, when it comes to making music, I feel only a Punjabi singer can do justice to some songs,” says Bollywood composer Pritam.

But Bollywood is just one way to reach out to bigger audiences. Singers like Honey Singh, Diljit Dosanjh, Miss Pooja, Gippy Grewal, Master Saleem and Harshdeep Kaur are constantly on the road, moving from one rip-roaring show to another — from Ludhiana to Toronto. And they’re also charting out a new career on the side as actors in Punjabi films. “These singers don’t have any time at all as they are expanding in all directions,” says Manoj Das Gupta, deputy general manager of leading music label T-Series.

Adds Das Gupta: “The Punjabi music industry is growing exponentially. We’re releasing around 40-50 albums a year and 70-80 compilations that include fresh songs from various artists.”

Tune in to Honey Singh who broke all records in the Punjabi music industry in 2011 with his album International Villager. Says Satvinder Singh Kohli, managing director, Speed Records: “We sold over 1,00,000 copies in just three to four months.”

Ever since International Villager zoomed to the top of the charts, Honey has been hitting one high note after another. His Angrezi Beat in Cocktail was a huge hit and it turned the Bollywood spotlight on him. Says Honey: “Saif and Kareena Kapoor heard this song when they were shooting in Dubai and wanted it in the movie.” He also raps along in Pritam’s song Main Sharabi in the movie.

Now Honey’s tuning into Bollywood in a bigger way. He says he has worked on 43 Bollywood songs. One of them was in the recently released Son of Sardaar. He will also be rocking the screen in Race 2 and Khiladi 786. “I am working with composers like Pritam and music companies like Eros, Tips and T-Series. Watch out for me, Bollywood,” he declares.

In fact, Honey hasn’t hit a false note in the last year. He criss-crossed the globe doing stage shows in the UK, Canada and the Gulf. He’s currently doing about three to four gigs a month and has scores of offers to sing at smaller venues for corporate events and colleges. “Honey Singh is everywhere, 24x7. You go to Dubai and he’ll be there. You go to Jaipur or Calcutta or Mumbai, he’ll be there,” says Rajesh Banga, vice president, Eros Entertainment. Adds the Hoshiarpur-born Honey: “I’ve come a long way from days when my family had hardly enough money to pay for my school.” His songs like Brown Rang and Dope Shope unfailingly send his fans into a frenzy.

Singing Second Hand Jawaani in Cocktail made Miss Pooja a big hit outside Punjab; Pic by Jagan Negi, (below) a chance to sing in Heyy Babyy kick-started Master Saleem’s career in Bollywood

It’s much the same story of being on the road constantly for Gippy Grewal, who also made his Bollywood breakthrough recently doing Angrezi Beat with Honey Singh. Gippy grumbles that he used to make one album a year but is so squeezed for time now between acting in Punjabi movies and doing live shows that he hasn’t had time to record.

Says Gippy: “For the last two years all my time has been taken up by movies. I shoot all day and head to the recording studio at night. I can’t tell you how difficult it’s been for me.” To make his life easier, Gippy is now building a new house with a studio on one floor.

Gippy may be feeling the strain of stardom but he’s certainly being rewarded for his efforts. His movie Carry On Jatta, released in July, earned Rs 20 crore gross according to industry experts — is a record in the Punjabi film industry.

He has appeared in three other movies like Jihne Mera Dil Luteya, which also starred Diljit. He is slated to appear in two other movies.

Diljit too is reaping the benefits of his screen appearances. His Jatt & Juliet was a huge hit in Punjab and also in the UK, US and Canada. So, now he and the film’s heroine Neeru Bajwa are going on a Jatt & Juliet World Tour to the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand. Says Eros’s Banga: “So, the market has increased which may not have been possible if he was only a singer.”

The other stars of the Punjabi film industry too are juggling many balls at the same time. Take a look at Master Saleem, one of the early singers to make a Bollywood breakthrough. He has sung for hit movies like Heyy Babyy, Dostana and Love Aaj Kal. Saleem was initially spotted by music director Shankar Mahadevan singing in a jagran on a regional Punjabi channel back in 2007. “When he called, I thought someone was playing a prank on me and hung up on him. It was only when he called again that I believed him.”

After that there was no looking back. Saleem delivered huge hits in 2010 like Humka Peeni Hai from Dabangg and Shakira in No Problem and Chamki Jawani in Yamla Pagla Deewana.

He’s now about to release his own album titled The Real Sufi and has also sung in movies like Son of Sardaar and the much-awaited, Dhoom 3.

Despite a busy Bollywood schedule, Saleem sticks to his main source of income — live shows. He does between 100-150 a year, apart from performing at devotional gatherings. He has a back-up team of 12 musicians who travel with him. For overseas tours, he takes eight musicians and his manager , Abhishek Josh, everywhere. Says Josh: “There’s no dearth of work. To keep up with everything, we have our own studios in Chandigarh, Mumbai and Jalandhar where he dubs, records Bollywood songs and sends them instantly.”

Also, aiming high is Harshdeep Kaur, who started her career by winning reality music shows, which eventually became her stepping stone to Bollywood. Trained in Indian classical music, Harshdeep rose to prominence when she won Junoon — Kuchh Kar Dikhaane Ka on NDTV Imagine in 2008. Before that, the 26-year-old singer had tried her hand at a few Bollywood songs for small budget movies that largely went unnoticed.

Her biggest breakthrough came in 2010, when she bagged the song Chand Ki Katori in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s, Guzaarish, Baari Barsi in the blockbuster Band Baaja Baaraat and Katiya Karoon in Rockstar which ruled the charts for several weeks. More recently, she delivered a super hit song Jugni in Cocktail. “Punjabi as language is so powerful that everyone instantly relates to it,” says Harshdeep. Her upcoming songs include a track in the recently released Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana.

After winning a television reality show, Harshdeep Kaur made her debut on Bollywood’s music scene with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Guzaarish; Pic by Gajanan Dudhalkar

For the singers their different activities complement each other. But singing Bollywood numbers raises their profile and immediately wins them new fans the world over. Miss Pooja, for instance, was amazed by the reception she received during a Bollywood Festival show in Norway recently. “I couldn’t believe the turn out for the concert. There were people cutting across communities like Gujaratis, Bengalis, Punjabis and even foreigners. This one single hit has given me instant fame and recognition.”

Similarly for Gippy, Bollywood has sent his star quotient zooming. “Even non-Punjabis recognise me now in India and abroad,” he says.

Music companies too have been quick to seize the opportunities presented by the Punjabi music boom. Tips produced Diljit’s first movie Jihne Mera Dil Luteya. And T-Series is drawing up plans to invest in several Punjabi movies starring almost all the top Punjabi stars.

Similarly, Eros plans to back four or five movies a year — though the company is conservative about making Punjabi movies. The Punjabi film industry has boomed in recent years and about 15 films are being made annually compared to just three or four a few years ago.

The singers are lucky in other ways too. They are particularly fortunate that there are five vibrant Punjabi music channels that belt out their numbers all day. Channels like 9X Tashan and MH1 are spinning one disc after another.

The dynamics of the music industry worldwide has changed with the coming of the Internet. And the Punjabi music industry is no different. CD and DVD sales have plunged. But music companies are making money in different ways. Some, for instance, are earning money by having their own YouTube channels and earning on advertising from them. They are also earning money from digital music sales on iTunes and other sites, and ringtones.

Which way will the Punjabi music industry go in the coming years? The only answer is that the beat will go on and the top musicians will keep on rocking.