By – Prakarsh Kastwar
The biography drama is around the lives and times of Amar Singh Chamkila, a prominent Punjabi musician during the 1980s.
One of the most anticipated movies of the year is Amar Singh Chamkila. The film, which stars Diljit Dosanjh in the lead role, narrates the little-known actual story of Punjab’s first popular rock star. However, director Imtiaz Ali revealed that he was unsure about Diljit’s choice for the lead role, believing that he “might not be able to do it,” in a recent interview with Pinkvilla.
What Imtiaz said
When Imtiaz was asked about the new casting of Diljit with Parineeti Chopra as his singer-wife Amarjot, he said: “I also feel when I watch them together or separately that I couldn’t have imagined or there could’ve been nobody who could’ve played Chamkila or Amarjot except Diljit and Parineeti. However, I wasn’t sure if it would work with Diljit for some reason. I assumed he wouldn’t be able to accomplish it, etc.”
He also stated that his perception changed after meeting the actor. “So I didn’t approach him in the beginning, but it’s a little later that I did, the moment I spoke to him, it was just like a different chapter, and now it’s a sure shot thing, and now I really can’t imagine anybody else doing it,” he went on to say.
More details
Amar Singh Chamkila is based on the true tragedy of a Punjabi singer and his wife, who were slain at a young age. Speaking about Amar Singh Chamkila at the Netflix event, he stated, “When I heard Bollywood was developing a film about Chamkila, I was curious what they would make. I made it; I made a film called Jodi, but I didn’t obtain the rights to it, so I made it fictional. I assumed they wouldn’t be able to make it. When the pandemic hit and Jodi hadn’t been released, Imtiaz sir called me. I believed I was going to be sued, but he wanted to cast me in his film instead.
Amar Singh Chamkila premieres on Netflix on April 12. The film was produced by Mohit Choudhary, Select Media Holdings LLP, Saregama, and Window Seat Films.