New Delhi: ‘Amar Singh Chamkila’ may have been overshadowed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s recently released period drama series ‘Heeramandi’ but the discussion around the Imtiaz Ali directorial continues in quarters where the film was most enjoyed. Starring Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra, the musical biopic of Punjabi folk singers Amar Singh Chamkila and Amarjot Kaur was appreciated by audiences and critics alike.
Diljit Dosanjh smoking scene in Amar Singh Chamkila
Among the many scenes and sequences that have been highlighted in the Chamkila biopic, is also the part where Diljit Dosanjh’s character lights a beedi( tobacco rolled in tendu leaf).This scene is instantly converted to animation, a clever way of depicting the singer-actor Dosanjh smoking a cigarette when he actually does not.
“I try that I don’t show anyone smoke in my films,” Imtiaz Ali answered the question in an interaction with Connect Cine. “In none of my films you would have seen anybody smoking! In this film it was important, because it was an integral part of what Chamkila had actually done in his life. It wasn’t imagined, this had indeed happened, and it was necessary to show that.
“All those people of Punjab who knew Chamkila also know that he had done this. For that, I didn’t want to show Diljit smoke, and he wouldn’t smoke anyway. So woh thoda tha problem. So we used the resort of this comic book style,” he added.
Roof breaking artist scene in Chamkila decoded
It’s not just this particular scene, several sequences, and parts of songs and flashbacks of Chamkila’s life in the film have also been converted and shown through animation. Visuals of violence in Punjab during the 80s insurgency, the aftermath of Chamkila’s performances and other scenes have also been shown in a similar fashion.
Talking about a sequence which was called the ‘roof breaker artiste'( kotha-dhao), fans would overcrowd terraces that would break them, this was also shot in a similar fashion with animation.
“He was called a roof-breaking artiste, which was a measure of his success and celebration. But when you shoot it in real life, it would be a very painful visual, of hundreds of people falling down and hurting themselves. How are we going to justify saying that this is a good thing. To make that pain not come out, we used animation over it. So, there were a few reasons why we used it. I was careful to create a mythology, and I felt this was a good style through which it can be created,” Ali added in the same interaction.
‘Amar Singh Chamkila’ has brought back Imtiaz Ali as a leading director, back in the game.