Jasbir Jassi

Some Lesser Known Facts About Jasbir Jassi

• Jasbir Jassi is an Indian singer, lyricist, and actor known for his iconic Punjabi folk melodies and songs including ‘Dil Le Gayee Kudi’ and ‘Koka.’ He has also sung for many popular Bollywood films such as ‘Dobara’ (2004), ‘Patiala House’ (2011), and ‘Kesari’ (2019).

• Jassi, as a child, used to play the harmonium.

  

• Jasbir Jassi considers Bhagat Singh, an Indian revolutionary freedom fighter, his idol.

  

• In an interview, Jasbir revealed that his father wanted him to become an engineer for which he opted engineering; however, Jasbir quit his engineering midway as he could not get himself away from his passion for music. Following his passion for music, he enrolled himself on a postgraduate course in classical vocal music; Jasbir again quit his studies and started learning singing from V.S. Jolly and then from renowned Sufi singer Puran Shah Koti.

• Becoming the first generation musician in his family, Jasbir got stardom in 1998 for his song ‘Dil Le Gayee Kudi,’ which is based on his real love story.

• Reportedly, Jasbir Jassi attended a national integration camp for youth from the border areas of India in 1989, where he met a girl from Gujarat, India. Jassi, from a border village, Dhalia, in the Gurdaspur district in Punjab, and the girl from Bhuj in the Kutch area of Gujarat, bonded with each other over time. The duo fell in love; however, they did not end up together; the girl got married to someone else. According to some sources, after the girl’s marriage, Jassi traced her in 1998. In the same year, while travelling to Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh with a Punjabi singer, Sham Bhateja, Jassi shared his feelings about that girl with Bhateja and said ‘Dil Le Gayee Kudi Gujarat Di.’ Listening to this, Bhateja hit on the idea of composing a song after this line, which eventually brought Jassi fame.

• He gave guest appearances in the movies such as ‘Dil Vil Pyar Vyar’ (2002) and ‘Heer Ranjha: A True Love Story’ (2009).

• In 2012, he appeared in an Indian television show, ‘Coke Studio @ MTV Season 2.’

  

• In 2012, he performed at the 65th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France.

• Jasbir also appeared as a judge in many reality shows including ‘Voice Of Punjab Chota Champ,’ ‘Voice of Punjab 2’ on channel PTC Punjabi (2011), ‘Ticket to Bollywood’ on NDTV Prime (2014), and ‘Awaaz Punjab di’ on channel MH1 (2016).

• Jasbir is a registered member of the Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS), a representative body of owners of music, viz. composers, lyricists (or authors) and the publishers of music and the sole authorized body to issue licences for usage of musical works & literary music within India.

• Jasbir Jassi often expresses his views on the usage of foul language and gun culture in Punjabi songs. In 2014, he wrote to the Chief Justice of India and the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Manish Tiwari, requesting them to ban the usage of inappropriate and indecent lyrics in the songs. According to Jasbir, he personally requested many singers including Honey Singh and Mika Singh to avoid using such words in their songs.