Imtiaz Ali on Netflix's Amar Singh Chamkila getting Emmy nomination in two categories: 'It's like a blessing that has come through...'

Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali says the International Emmy nomination for “Amar Singh Chamkila” in two categories has come as a blessing and a reminder that stories rooted in local culture resonate globally.

Based on the life of slain Punjabi musician Amar Singh Chamkila, the movie is nominated in the TV Movie/Mini-Series category, while lead star Diljit Dosanjh has earned a nod in the Best Performance by an Actor category.

Ali said he is proud that the film, which premiered on Netflix in 2024 to critical acclaim, has placed India alongside international stalwarts.

“We had just come back from dinner when we got the news… It’s like a blessing that has come through with the story of Chamkila to us. Very happy that this film is finding a voice and is being seen… We are very proud that we could bring India to this table where so many international stalwarts are standing,” Ali told PTI in an interview.

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Known for his modern relationship dramas such as “Jab We Met”, “Love Aaj Kal”, “Highway” and “Tamasha”, the 54-year-old director said the recognition for “Chamkila” is a reminder that to be internationally recognised, one has to make a “very local film”.

“You shouldn’t try to speak in a language that is international because there is no such language. You should just speak in the language that is native to you in terms of cinema. That’s a big learning and it feels awesome that this film is so rooted and so placed in Punjab and has been made because of the love that we have received from the people of Punjab,” he added.

The film, which also stars Parineeti Chopra, is set against the backdrop of militancy-wrecked Punjab in the turbulent 1980s. Chamkila, whose music was controversial, risque and provocative yet popular, was gunned down in 1988 along with his wife Amarjot.

Ali praised Dosanjh for capturing the “scent” of Chamkila through his performance by setting aside his own stature as a hugely popular singer who performs to packed arenas and stadiums.

“It’s incredible that for not even a moment, Diljit remembered who he was when he was in those small villages in Punjab and performing in front of hundreds of people and playing Chamkila. At every moment, he thought he was Chamkila.

“When a person watches the film, they are watching Diljit but they would never think that this is a man who goes to Canada and performs to a house full audience. That self-belief was really awesome and God bless him. I know that he has a lot to give to this country, to this world and I will be looking forward to what he does next.” Ali recalled asking Dosanjh, “Do you remember that you were a concert singer yourself?” “He was like, ‘Oh, I never thought that I also do this in my life.’ That is the quality of presence he had… It’s impossible to conceive of this film without Diljit playing Chamkila… We have not even pitch corrected, it’s like even artistically it was not possible to cast a person who’s not a singer,” said the director, who is collaborating with Dosanjh for his next feature project as well.

“He is doing his next film with me or my next film is with him… We are shooting it currently,” Ali said about the currently-untitled project.

While Punjab has often been depicted on screen, Ali has been praised for authentically capturing its most turbulent period through the musical tale of a singer who boldly defied social norms and diktats.

The film’s music has been equally praised for its bouquet of soulful melodies and compositions, including “Ishq Mitaye”, “Baaja” and “Vida Karo”, crafted by Oscar-winning composer A R Rahman and acclaimed lyricist Irshad Kamil.

“The feeling that I had while shooting in Punjab or even by going there and discovering what the land and the texture is, it was like how you have earthing (connecting with the Earth, feeling grounded and in touch with nature). It is what happened with me in this film, like I felt close to the land, the country and that somehow got transmitted,” he said.

Ali also highlighted the crucial role streaming service Netflix played in the making “Amar Singh Chamkila”, as the filmmaker initially struggled to bring the project together due to a host of challenges from resources to logistics.

“The moment Netflix came into ‘Chamkila’, all the problems disappeared, and it was also a very wonderful experience to be backed so thoroughly and so lovingly by Monika (Shergill) and the entire team… It has been an extremely wonderful and rewarding experience. I wouldn’t change anything in the quality of the relationship we’ve had with Netflix,” he added.

Shergill, Vice President, Content, Netflix India, said the film’s journey was wonderful with Ali leading the project with “passion, clarity and a willingness to actually challenge himself constantly from the very get-go”.

“All of us, my team and I, saw Imtiaz evolve from where it began to how he made it on the editing table. It’s such a unique film which is not just made like a fiction film. It is also so much sometimes a docudrama style, sometimes a documentary style. It mixes media; there are songs that take the story forward and songs which are spoken songs.” She said there hasn’t been a project on Netflix that was filled with so many songs.

“Amar Singh Chamkila” featured 14 tracks, the majority of which were recorded live in the voices of Dosanjh and Chopra for their stage performances in the film.

“On Netflix, we’ve had certain big musicals in the West which came on the service and actually didn’t really perform, because with music on streaming, people wanted more story-intensive films — and this was a lot of music.

“But I think the way Imtiaz brought it all together and everyone involved, how the whole thing shaped up and evolved, I think that is the power of it, the impact of it, and really the eternal quality of it,” she added.