Diljit Dosanjh in ‘Amar Singh Chamkila’
The trailer for Imtiaz Ali’s new musical, Amar Singh Chamkila, was launched in Mumbai on Thursday. Set in Punjab in the turbulent 80s, the movie stars Diljit Dosanjh as legendary people singer Amar Singh Chamkila. Parineeti Chopra essays Chamkila’s spouse and musical accomplice Amarjot.
Ali’s movie charts the rise of Chamkila, considered the ‘Elvis Presley of Punjab’, as he navigates success and cynicism, idolatry and infamy. From a humble mill employee, he rises to turn out to be the voice of Punjab’s lots, changing into the highest-selling recording artist of the state. “Other artists are great, but you’re our own,” his followers declare.
Chamkila — an immensely common singer-songwriter and reside performer famous for his frank and bawdy lyrics — was slain, together with Amarjot, by unidentified gunmen in Mehsampur in Punjab in 1988. His dying at the age of 27 has remained a topic of nice thriller and hypothesis in Punjab. It was alleged, although not proved, that he was killed by Sikh separatists.
Talking about the movie, Imtiaz Ali mentioned in a press release, “Stories of young musicians that challenge the norms of society, who see unprecedented success and then have violent ends is unfortunately a worldwide phenomenon. The life and times of Chamkila raised important questions for society but ultimately it is a celebration of the life of an artist, the story of a musician who could never give up his first love – music.”
AR Rahman has composed the music for Amar Singh Chamkila with lyrics by Irshad Kamil.
The movie is slated to premiere on Netflix on April 12.