In an unexpected move, Punjabi singer and global icon Diljit Dosanjh sparked a social media frenzy and generated significant buzz for Coca-Cola during his recent concert in Hyderabad. The incident, which occurred on November 17, 2024, has since gone viral, prompting a reaction from the soft drink giant itself.
For the unknown, Dosanjh’s Hyderabad performance was part of his ongoing 11-city tour across India. However, the concert came with a unique challenge: the Telangana government had issued a directive prohibiting the singer from performing songs that promoted alcohol, drugs, or violence.
The singer opted for a more creative approach to this problem. He decided to modify the lyrics of his popular songs, replacing references to alcohol with mentions of Coke. In addition to complying with the government’s directive, the move also injected a dose of humour into his performance.
Some of the notable lyric changes included:
“5 tara theke” (5-star liquor shops) became “5 tara hotel”
“daaru ‘ch lemonade” (lemonade in alcohol) was transformed into “Coke ‘ch lemonade”
In the song “Pehle Lalkare,” the line “Dooja kamm bottlaan de datt pattne” was changed to “Dooja kamm Coke de datt pattne”
The audience at the Hyderabad concert was thoroughly entertained by the singer’s witty thinking. Videos of the performance quickly spread across social media platforms, with fans sharing clips of the singer grinning as he sang the modified lyrics. Social media users were quick to point out the unexpected publicity boost for Coca-Cola, with one X (formerly Twitter) user noting, “Coke has made incredible impressions with the recent tweak in lyrics by Diljit.”
In addition, during his recent concert in Ahmedabad, Gujarat Diljit sarcastically took a dig and responded to the Telangana government’s notice instructing him to not sing songs on alcohol, or drugs. Diljit told the fans present for the concert that he would not sing songs on alcohol since Gujarat is a dry state. At his Gujarat show, he said, “Declare a dry day wherever my shows are, and I’ll refrain from alcohol-related songs. It’s easy for me to tweak my lyrics.”
Coca-Cola’s Response: The unexpected publicity didn’t go unnoticed by Coca-Cola. The company’s official Instagram account for India responded to a video of the performance shared on the “teamdiljitglobal” page. In a playful comment, they added a fourth task to the list mentioned in Dosanjh’s song “Pehle Lalkare”: “Chautha kaam twade gaane japne” (fourth task is worshipping your songs), complete with a smiley face and heart emoji. This interaction further fueled the viral nature of the incident, with fans appreciating the brand’s good-humoured response to the situation.
While the incident has provided entertainment and unexpected publicity, it has also sparked discussions about artistic freedom and censorship in India. Dosanjh himself criticized the Telangana government’s directive, highlighting what he perceives as double standards in the treatment of Indian artists compared to international performers. In a video shared on Instagram, Dosanjh pointed out, “When international artists perform in India, there are no such restrictions, but when an Indian artist is involved, limitations are imposed.”
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