The Punjabi music star visits a top Indian restaurant in Birmingham 13 years after he was deported

A Punjabi music star with six million Spotify listeners and nearly as many Instagram followers was in Birmingham this week enjoying a meal at the city’s most popular celebrity spot. Hit maker Garry Sandhu, who lived in Birmingham before being deported in 2011, was pictured dining at Asha’s in the city centre.

Asha’s has a reputation as the go-to spot for the city’s celebrities and has previously welcomed ‘Two Tikkas’ Tom Cruise, Pink, Ed Sheeran and the Rolling Stones. The chefs at Asha’s even cooked for King Charles before his coronation.

It is not clear why ‘Illegal Weapon’ singer Garry Sandhu was in the city, although the singer has strong links to Birmingham, having lived here until he was detained by immigration officers in 2011. He came to the city for the first time in 2002 and returned to India. penniless after being denied asylum.

Read more: Why Asha’s in Birmingham makes so many celebrities go there for a curry

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In the years that followed, the performer’s music connected with his audience and rose to Bollywood fame. His song Illegal Weapon appeared in the movie Street Dancer 3D in 2020 and at the time of writing has been streamed nearly 176 million times on Spotify alone.

Garry, 40, smiled for the camera as he was photographed in front of Asha’s famous sign. The restaurant posted it with the caption: “It was a pleasure to welcome the amazing Garry Sandhu to Asha’s Birmingham!

“When the stars come to Brum, they dine at Asha’s…”

We’ve previously looked at why celebrities might be dining at Asha’s and you can read our thoughts here. Other Indian restaurants in Birmingham that are popular with celebrities include Varanasi, where Johnny Depp enjoyed dinner, and Opheem was where Michael Buble kissed the chef when he last performed at the Utilita Arena.