Diljit Dosanjh says it is painful to talk about Sidhu Moosewala’s killing, calls out government: ‘Ye sarkaar ki nalayaki hai’

Sidhu Moosewala was killed on May 29 when he along with his friend and cousin were travelling in a jeep to Jawahar Ke village in Mansa. Six shooters waylaid his vehicle and shot him.

In an interview with Film Companion, Diljit said its cruel how Moosewala was killed, leaving his family devasted. During his concert in Canada earlier this year, Diljit had paid tributes to Sidhu Moosewala, Punjabi actor-activist Deep Sidhu and kabaddi player Sandeep Singh Sandhu.

“All three are big names. They worked hard in their career. I don’t think an artiste can do something wrong with anyone. So why will someone kill them? It is extremely saddening. His parents… it is tough to even talk about it. Think about it, that your only child passes away.. how are the parents dealing with it. Only they know their pain. What happened with them is huge. Ye 100 per cent sarkaar ki nalayaki hai aur ye politics hai, jo bohot gandi hai (It is the incompetency of the government; and its politics, which is ugly),” he said.

Diljit said all one can do is pray to God that the family is “given justice” and that a tragedy like this isn’t repeated. The actor said the act of killing artistes have been going on for a long time–and which happens across the world–but doesn’t understand how anyone can take the liberty of ending someone’s life.

“We have not come in this world to kill, but this has been happening for a long time, artistes have been killed before too. Chamkila was killed, Dilshad Akhtar was killed, Veerendra, a film artiste, was also shot dead.

“To kill someone is just terrible– you can’t end someone’s life. When I had started, there were problems, people would think why is he succeeding but to just kill someone… This is government fault. I hope God gives the family the strength and they are fighting it strongly.”

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday confirmed reports that Canada-based most-wanted gangster Satinder Singh aka Goldy Brar had been detained in the United States. Brar is the alleged mastermind behind the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala.

During the interview, Diljit also spoke about his recent Netflix film Jogi, which centered on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Diljit said it was important for him to do the film because it was talking about an era which has “not been spoken truthfully about.”

“Forget about justice, this was not even spoken about. People call it riots, but it was genocide. Riots are when two groups clash, but here a group didn’t even know what was happening to them. Overnight, an entire nation becomes their enemy. I knew it was coming on Netflix, being made by a big director like Ali Abbas Zafar, so it was important for me to do it. Films can’t cover everything about an incident, but at least it sparks a conversation,” he concluded.