Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh has spoken about his viral rendition of Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s “Sanson Ki Mala” at Wembley Stadium, calling the decision to sing the late maestro’s classic an act of love rather than a claim to the original.
During a recent Instagram live session, a user commented on his performance of the NFAK song.
Responding to the user, Diljit said, “I am not a good enough singer to sing Nusrat Sahib’s songs or do justice to the words he sang. I am a very limited artist. We have a lot of love and respect for Nusrat Sahib. That is why I felt that this is such a great venue, and I wanted to express my respect for him here. I thought, since the people sitting in this stadium also love him, why not sing a few of his words for them?”
He continued to speak about the qawwal, reflecting on why he chose to perform his work despite feeling unworthy of it.
“Nusrat Sahib is a legend and my all-time favourite. I apologise for this audacity, but I really wanted to sing it. I sang it from the heart. Maybe my voice was not perfect or I may have made some mistakes, but I performed it with all my heart and love for him,” he added.
The performance took place on September 12 at a sold-out Wembley Stadium in London, where fans filled the venue and held up phone lights through the song.
Clips of the moment spread quickly online, with listeners describing the goosebumps it gave them.
Khan first performed “Sanson Ki Mala” live in 1979 during his debut visit to India, after actor and filmmaker Raj Kapoor invited him to sing at the wedding of his son Rishi Kapoor.
The Wembley show forms part of Diljit’s Aura World Tour 2026, built around his album “Aura”, which came out on October 15, 2025. Tickets for the London date sold out as soon as they went on sale.
The European leg opened on August 21 in Berlin and takes in Dublin, Paris, Vienna, Milan, Amsterdam, London and Birmingham, before closing on September 20 in Manchester.
