A few months ago, several dancers had accused singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh’s management of not paying them the dues for their performances on his North America tour. Now, dancer Shilpa Sajan has withdrawn from the Europe leg of the ongoing Dil-Luminati Tour due to similar issues. (Also Read: Diljit Dosanjh adds new shows for sold-out Dil-Luminati tour in Delhi and Jaipur; tickets go live from today)
Shilpa’s statement
Shilpa shared a long note on her Instagram handle and captioned it, “An opportunity I was very excited about, but the dance industry has once again shown its true colours. Full of unprofessionalism, arrogance, complete disrespect towards the dancers and being told ‘that’s how Indians do things’. No celebrity is worth sacrificing your self-respect @DiljitDosanjh.”
She then elaborated that when she was offered the role of a backup dancer on the Europe leg of the Dil-Luminati Tour, she was already aware of the controversy surrounding non-payment of dues by Diljit’s management in North America. Was. However, she was reassured that it was a paid opportunity. However, as the tour began, he realized that it was not possible to survive on the meager salary of £80. They were also asked to cover their own accommodation and travel expenses, although this included international travel.
“I have never worked with such an unprofessional and disrespectful management team in my life. Everything was a mess,” she wrote. Shilpa said that her messages were ignored, dancers were stopped at the last minute and there was no emphasis on rehearsals which affected the final performance. He then explained that this is symptomatic of larger issues in the dance industry, in which dancers are simply treated as “commodities”.
Internet supported Shilpa
Many Instagram users came out in Shilpa’s defence. One of them commented on her post, “Thank you for valuing yourself and your skills above these 5 minutes of impact! (Applause emoji).” Another wrote, “Exploitation of artistes in the name of performance has been going on for too long. And especially with Diljit, who mentions in all his interviews that all his earnings go to his shows – yet, Why are people not getting their fair share?”
A third comment said, “So proud of you for standing up for yourself, no matter how hard it is,” while a fourth said, “This is incredibly disappointing and disappointing. I almost finished touring myself and I know a lot of girls who went through this – stories of 2am rehearsals, misinformation and being screwed over by management were very common.’ “After all the protests earlier this year, you would think they would have sorted themselves out, but apparently not,” one person said.
Diljit will soon be in India for the sold-out leg of the Dil-Luminati Tour, which will begin in New Delhi on October 26 and conclude in Guwahati on December 29.
