Amar Singh Chamkila is all set to release on April 13
Diljit Dosanjh got candid about his upcoming film Chamkila and the reason why he was skeptical about Bollywood making a biopic on the singer.
Imtiaz Ali’s highly anticipated film ‘Amar Singh Chamkila’ is all set to release on the auspicious occasion of Baisakhi. The Diljit Dosanjh-Parineeti Chopra starrer, which promises to be a cinematic spectacle, is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on April 12th. Ahead of the film, Diljit Dosanjh shared in a recent interview about his skepticism whether Bollywood would be able to do justice to the biopic and how Imtiaz Ali approached him for the same.
At the Netflix press event, Diljit Dosanjh revealed, “I thought I knew a lot about Chamkila, before I met Imtiaz sir. Humein jab pata chala ki Bollywood mein film bann rahi hai Chamkila, toh humein laga ki ye kya banayenge? Hum banayenge, humne Jodi film banayi hai, jiske humein rights nahi mile toh humne fiction bana di (When I got to know that Bollywood was making Chamkila’s biopic, I thought, ‘how would they even make it?’ We will make it. And we did exactly that with the movie, Jodi). I thought they wouldn’t be able to make it. So when the pandemic hit, Jodi could not be released and that is when I got a call from Imtiaz Ali sir. I thought he was going to sue us. But he said he wanted to cast me in his film.”
He added, “But when I heard his perspective, it was totally different. It was Chamkila’s story, and that story, even I didn’t know that well. Amar Singh Chamkila wrote his own music, played it on his own and even performed it on stage. So the fact that such a big film was going to be made on Chamkila was a matter of great pride for me and my people. I just surrendered to the vision of Imtiaz Ali sir.”
The film charts the untold true story of Punjab’s original rockstar of the masses, the highest record-selling artist of his time, Amar Singh Chamkila, often referred to as the ‘Elvis Presley of Punjab’.
Shot in real locations, the film promises to transport audiences to the vibrant and rhythmic world of Punjab’s folk music, right to the rustic Akhadaas (live music performances in villages) where Chamkila’s voice would once roar. The film stars Parineeti Chopra as Amarjot, Chamkila’s wife and singing partner.
With the maestro AR Rahman helming the music for the film and Irshad Kamil penning the lyrics, the audience will once again get to witness the magic of a Rahman-Imtiaz-IIrshad collaboration. Adding to the excitement, both Diljit and Parineeti have lent their voices to some of the songs! For the first time, the film will showcase live music recordings done on locations, capturing the rawness and exuberance of each moment as Diljit and Parineeti sing live in the Akhadaas.
Earlier in an interview with ETimes, Parineeti Chopra opened up about doing the film. She shared, “One of the main reasons I did this film was because I was getting to sing some 15 songs for it. It was during this film that my co-star, Diljit, heard me sing and told me to pursue live performances. Everyone around me used to constantly put this thought in my head that I could be on stage.”
The film is produced by Mohit Choudhary, Select Media Holdings LLP, Saregama, and Window Seat Films. The music of the film is on Saregama.
