‘Amar Singh Chamkila’ Director Imtiaz Ali on Bringing the Indian Music Icon’s Life to Netflix With A.R. Rahman, Diljit Dosanjh (EXCLUSIVE)
03.05.2024 - 11:15
/ variety.com
Naman Ramachandran Indian filmmaker Imtiaz Ali‘s Netflix original film “Amar Singh Chamkila” is a hit for the streamer, bowing at No. 1 across South Asia and No. 5 on its global Top 10 chart.
The film is a biopic of Punjabi musician Amar Singh Chamkila (Diljit Dosanjh), who rose from obscurity working in a socks manufacturing factory to becoming the most sought after performer in the region alongside his wife Amarjot Kaur (Parineeti Chopra). Chamkila’s suggestive lyrics that were rooted in rural Punjabi life were described as vulgar by many, and he came under pressure from religious and political groups to stop and received death threats. His local musical contemporaries were jealous of his success.
In 1988, Chamkila, Kaur and two of their band members were shot dead. The assassination remains unsolved. The Chamkila story has been told twice before, as a mockumentary “Mehsampur” (2018), and as an unofficial biopic “Jodi” (2023), also starring Dosanjh, who is a film and music superstar for Punjabi audiences.
However, “Amar Singh Chamkila” is the definitive version. Ali, who is known for “Jab We Met” (2007), “Love Aaj Kal” (2009), “Rockstar” (2011) and “Highway” (2014), was aware of the Chamkila story for a while. It began fructifying when he was approached by the person who had the rights to the late musicians’ life story.
The film is framed by the assassination and explores the musicians’ story as narrated to the investigating police by their associates. “I wanted the bang out of the way soon. I wanted the sensation to be taken care of.
The website popstar.one is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can
send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.