Who was Amar Singh Chamkila, who was shot dead with his wife, & the role Diljit Dosanjh plays in Netflix's movie?

Imtiaz Ali and Diljit Dosanjh are coming together for a film called Amar Singh Chamkila, which will stream on Netflix on April 12. But who was Amar Singh Chamkila? What is his legacy? How did he contribute to Indian music, especially in Punjab?

Chamkila was one of the most influential and popular artists in Punjab, and the lyrics of his songs hit home and stayed with people due to their scorching impact. He was said to have been influenced by personal experiences during his growing up years for his music. It was mainly about extra-marital relationships, coming of age, drinking, drug use.

Indian film composer Amit Trivedi called Chamkila “a legend, the Elvis of Punjab. British Indian musician, Panjabi MC, cites Chamkila as one of his musical influences.

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The Mysterious Assassination

Chamkila and his wife Amarjot were gunned down on the fateful day of March 8, 1988, when the singer and musician arrived in Mehsampur, Punjab for a performance. The culprits could never be captured and the case remains unsolved till date.

Recently, at a press conference, Diljit Dosanjh opened up about his experience working on the film with the ace director. During this time, Diljit also shared that he was worried about the director suing him for making Jodi (2023), a film with a fictional take on Amar Singh Chamkila.

Noting that he thought that a film on  Amar Singh Chamkila couldn’t be made in Hindi, Diljit said, “I thought I knew a lot about Chamkila before meeting him (Imtiaz Ali). When we got to know that a Bollywood film is being made on Chamkila, we wondered what they would make. We have made a fictional film named Jodi, as we didn’t have the rights. We also wondered how they would make Punjabi songs in Hindi, as we couldn’t recreate them as we had already made them.”

The actor further recalled receiving a call from Imtiaz Ali, adding that he thought that the filmmaker would sue him. “I thought he would sue us, as he had the rights to the story, but we didn’t have it. But he said that he wanted to cast me in the film. I told him, ‘We already have the story. If you still think that you want to make a film with me, then we will see,” Diljit continued.

He also went on to admit how his perspective changed after hearing Imtiaz’s idea for the film. “His perspective was different. It was Chamkila’s story. I felt that I didn’t know well. Amar Singh Chamkila would write his own music, play it himself, and also perform it on stage. He was a big artist. So it was a matter of pride for me and my people. When sir gave him the role, I just surrendered to his vision,” he concluded.