 "Amid Netflix's 'Amar Singh Chamkila', late singer's dholak player recalls his death: 'I saw a man with covered face pull a machine gun and…'")
Amar Singh Chamkila was a ferocious and fearless artist that was hailed as the Elvis Presley of Punjab. The man transcended being a singer and became the pride of the state. Imtiaz Ali made a solid comeback as a filmmaker with a film on his life on the same name that’s now streaming on Netflix. His career finally breathed a sigh of relief by telling the fascinating story of a historic figure that’s no longer alive with us.
In a conversation with Noble TV Canada in 2020, Lal Chand, Chamkila’s Dholak player, recalled the late singer’s last words and the events that unfolded on that fateful day. “ We all got to the office around lunchtime. Chamkila arrived, and we hung out for about 10 minutes before heading to the show. Right before we left, Chamkila told everyone not to worry (about the death threats),” revealed Lal.
He added, “He said, ‘I sing the songs, not you. Jis goli pe mera naam likheya hoga, o mere te vajni hi vajni aa (The bullet that has my name written on it will strike only me). On our way to Mehsampur, we saw posters of the film Patola. I pointed them out to him. Chamkila was a part of that film, and he said that after the show, we’d all go to watch it together. But that time never came. Before the show, we decided to eat.
The shocking assassination
Everybody exited the car, including Chamkila. Amarjot and I were the only ones still inside. I stepped out and opened the boot to take my dhol, Amarjot was still inside. No sooner had I picked up the dhol, I saw from the corner of my eye a man with a covered face pull a machine gun out and start firing. I bolted from the spot, but as I was trying to find cover, I saw Amarjot get hit. She was just about to step out of the car.
I could hear them swearing at Chamkila while they were shooting. They shot him in the back, but before being hit, he looked at Amarjot and noticed the blood coming out of her. He asked, ‘Babbi, tenu ki hoya (Babbi, what happened to you)?’ I never knew before then that this is what Chamkila called Amarjot.
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