Punjabi singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh has revealed that he began his career performing at birthday parties and weddings and his childhood struggles motivated him to accept every opportunity that came his way.

During his appearance on the podcast Q with Tom Power, Diljit said, “I came from a poor family. It was like a below-average family. If you got sick, you wouldn’t have money to go to the doctor, so don’t get sick because you don’t have money.”

According to the actor-singer, his desire to become “rich and famous” was driven by the importance of attaining financial security.

Dosanjh recounted that soon after the release of his debut album Ishq Da Uda Ada in the early 2000s people approached his music company to book him for performances at birthday parties.

“My album came out in 2002 and 4-5 people came to my company and said we want to book this guy for a birthday party.... So when they gave me the money, I thought this was the path.”

“I didn’t say no to anybody. If someone offered Rs 5,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 15,000, I said yes. I didn’t say no to anybody. I went everywhere day and night,” he further said.

He went on to say that live performances soon became the backbone of his income. “It’s amazing. There’s so much money in that field.”

Revealing why he eventually stopped performing at weddings, the actor-singer said some senior artistes in the Punjabi music industry looked down on such performances.

“The senior artists from my field didn’t like that I do too many shows. And I thought, ‘Oh my God, you guys think that if I’m not doing wedding songs I’m done? No, because I love Michael Jackson. Everyone used to say that Punjabi music will not go to that level. And then I decided that I won’t do wedding shows, I’ll do concerts.”

On the work front, Dosanjh was recently seen in Imtiaz Ali’s Main Vaapas Aaunga alongside Naseeruddin Shah, Vedang Raina and Sharvari.