Indore, Nov 8: Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh has been barred from performing four of his popular songs, including "Patiala Peg", at his concert in Indore on November 15, after child protection authorities said the lyrics glorify alcohol, drugs and violence and could have an adverse effect on young children in the audience. The directions were issued to the management of the concert venue, and the singer's November 15 show itself has not been cancelled.
The four songs named in the directive are "Patiala Peg", "5 Tara Theke", "Jeb Vicho Feem" and "Jatt Fire Karda". The first three are among Dosanjh's best-known tracks, and "Patiala Peg", a celebration of a large measure of whisky, has been a staple of his live shows for years. The fourth, "Jatt Fire Karda", refers to gunfire. All four, according to the authorities, carry references to intoxicants or weapons that make them unsuitable for an audience that will include children.
The directions were issued by Indore's District Child Protection Officer, an official of the Women and Child Development Department, in a letter sent on November 6 to the management of C-21 Mall, where the concert is scheduled to take place at the C-21 Estate Ground.
The letter instructs the venue management to ensure that the four songs are not performed during the event, and it points out that children above the age of five will be allowed to attend the show, making the content of the performance a matter of concern for the authorities.
The action followed a complaint by Chandigarh-based professor Dr Panditrao Dharenavar, who objected to the songs on the ground that they glorify intoxicants and gun culture and could have a negative influence on children attending the concert. In his complaint, filed on November 1, Dharenavar asked the authorities to ensure that Dosanjh was not allowed to perform the four songs, even with altered lyrics.
The complaint was taken up by the child protection office, which issued the direction to the venue within days.
The letter referred to an order passed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on July 22, 2019, which directed the police in Punjab, Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh to ensure that songs glorifying liquor, wine, drugs and violence were not played, including at live performances.
The High Court, in a judgment delivered by Justices Rajiv Sharma and Harinder Singh Sidhu in a batch of petitions concerning noise pollution, had said it could take judicial notice of the fact that the glorification of liquor, wine, drugs and violence in songs had an adverse effect on young minds, and had directed the police chiefs of the two states and the Union Territory to act.
Dharenavar is no stranger to that order. He was the petitioner in one of the five cases, largely concerning noise pollution, that the High Court decided together in 2019, and he has since taken up the enforcement of its directions with authorities in different cities.
His complaint to the Indore authorities cited the 2019 order and urged them to apply it to Dosanjh's concert, even though the order itself was addressed to the police chiefs of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh and does not name Indore or Madhya Pradesh.
The Indore concert is part of Dosanjh's Aura India Tour, and the November 15 show has been eagerly awaited by fans in Madhya Pradesh. The venue, C-21 Mall, is one of the city's largest commercial complexes, and its open ground has hosted large public events before. Tickets for the show have been on sale, and the restriction on four songs is not expected to affect the rest of the setlist, which spans Dosanjh's long career in Punjabi music and cinema.
The authorities have also asked that children not be called on stage during the performance, and that the singer avoid wearing a faux bullet belt, a stage accessory that has drawn objections in the past. These additional directions underline the focus of the intervention: not the concert itself, which has been allowed to go ahead, but the elements of the performance that officials believe could influence young audience members.
This is not the first time Dosanjh's song choices have drawn official attention. Before his December 2024 concert in Chandigarh, the Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights advised him to refrain from singing some of his hit songs, including "Patiala Peg". Before his Mumbai show that month, the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights served a notice restricting him from performing songs that promote drugs, violence and alcohol.
At his Hyderabad show, Dosanjh changed the lyrics of "5 Taara" on stage, singing "5 taara hotel ch" instead of the original "5 taara theke utte", a reference to a liquor shop, a moment that was widely noted at the time.
The recurring pattern reflects a tension that has followed Dosanjh's career. His music, rooted in Punjabi folk and pop traditions, frequently celebrates drinking, bravado and gun culture, themes that are deeply embedded in the genre and hugely popular with his audience.
At the same time, child rights bodies and courts have taken the view that such content, when performed before audiences that include children, can normalise behaviour that the law and public policy seek to discourage. The 2019 High Court order gave that view judicial force, and complainants like Dharenavar have used it to press for restrictions wherever Dosanjh performs.
The debate around such restrictions is not settled. Supporters argue that children should not be exposed to songs that glorify alcohol and violence, and that a performer of Dosanjh's stature has a responsibility towards the young fans who attend his shows. Critics of the restrictions argue that the songs are works of popular culture, that adults are entitled to hear them, and that asking a singer to drop his best-known numbers alters the character of a live performance.
Some also point out that the 2019 order was directed at the police chiefs of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, and question how far its reasoning can be stretched to concerts in other states.
For the organisers of the Indore show, the immediate question is practical: the setlist must be adjusted, the four songs must be kept out, and the additional directions about children on stage and stage costume must be followed. The venue management, which received the letter from the child protection officer, is responsible for ensuring compliance, and any breach could invite further action from the authorities.
For Dosanjh's fans in Indore, the news will be disappointing, particularly for those who had hoped to hear "Patiala Peg" live, a song that has become an anthem of his concerts. But the show will go on, and the singer has on past occasions adapted to such restrictions, changing lyrics and adjusting his setlist rather than cancelling. Whether he does the same in Indore, and how the audience responds, will be clear only on the night of November 15.
The episode is a reminder of how the live music business in India now operates in a space shaped by courts, child rights commissions and local officials, as well as by the artists and their audiences. A song that is a hit on streaming platforms can still be kept off a stage, and a concert that sells out can still be reshaped by a letter from a district officer. For one of India's biggest live acts, that is now a familiar part of touring.
(Reporting based on The Times of India, NDTV and The Telegraph.)