Border 2 star Diljit Dosanjh reveals he could not afford a ticket to watch the original Border in theatre

Life truly came a full circle for singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh as he starred in Border 2. The film, which was released last week, features Diljit Dosanjh along with actors Sunny Deol, Varun Dhawan and Ahaan Shetty. The film has opened to good box office numbers and critical praise. In a recent video shared on social media, Diljit has recalled how he had watched the original Border film on TV, much after its theatrical debut, because he could not afford tickets to the theatre.

Diljit Dosanjh on watching Border 2 on television

On Wednesday, Diljit took to Instagram and shared a video recalling how he had to wait for JP Dutta's Border to air on television.

"Shor bahut tha ki Border aayi hai, matlab poore desh mein shor tha ki Border aayi hai. Tab gharwale aise theatre mein jaane bhi nahi dete the. Humare paas koi aise paise bhi nahi the ki hum theatre mein dekhein. Maine phir TV par dekhi thi jab Border aayi thi. Toh hum wait hi kar rahe the — kab aayegi aur kab dekhenge. (There was a huge buzz when Border released, I mean, there was noise about it across the entire country. In those days, our family didn’t even allow us to go to theatres. We also didn’t have the money to watch films in cinemas. So, I watched Border on TV when it aired. We were just waiting for it — when it would come on television and when we’d finally get to watch it)."

He added that he had watched the film two to three times.

Diljit said that he knew a neighbour who had watched the film in a theatre and had told everyone how people had enjoyed it in the hall.

Diljit said, "Film ka kamaal ka mahaul tha theatre mein. Toh uski baatein sunkar main bahut excited ho gaya tha ki jab bhi TV pe aayegi, main zaroor dekhunga. Toh maine TV par dekhi. Bhaji, abhi jo meri feeling hai na, woh yeh hai ki jo Bhagwan de raha hai, main le raha hoon. Main apne aapko laayak nahi samajhta iske ki main is film ka hissa ban paoon. Lekin jo bhi Bhagwan de raha hai, uska shukr hai (The atmosphere in the theatre during the film was incredible. Hearing people talk about it made me very excited, and I decided that whenever it came on TV, I would definitely watch it. So I watched it on television. Bhaji, the way I feel right now is that whatever God is giving me, I am accepting it with gratitude. I don’t consider myself worthy of being a part of this film, but I am thankful for whatever God has given me)."

Diljit Dosanjh in Border 2

Border 2 stars Sunny Deol, Varun Dhawan, and Ahan Shetty and JP Dutta’s Border featured Sunny Deol, Suniel Shetty, Akshaye Khanna and Jackie Shroff. Released in 1997, the film was a huge blockbuster.

WION’s review of Border 2

In her review of the film, WION’s Shomini Sen praised Diljit Dosanjh’s performance, stating that he stood out from the rest of the actors in the film. “Among the actors, it is Diljit Dosanjh who shines the most. He plays a man who hates to lose but also a loyal friend who opens up his home and family to his lonely, introverted friend. Dosanjh plays his character with grace and charm, making his scenes the most enjoyable.” Read full review of film here.

Border 2 box office collection

Border 2 has been well-received at the box office and is doing brisk business. The film collected Rs 30 crore on its opening day and has continued to see growth in its collections. The film also benefited from the Republic Day holiday and collected ₹59 crore on its first Monday. So far, the film has collected ₹200 crore at the domestic box office and over ₹250 crore worldwide.