Logline: The untold true story of Punjab’s original rockstar of the masses, Amar Singh Chamkila, who emerged from the shadows of poverty and rose to the heights of popularity in the 80s, due to the sheer power of his music, angering many along the way, ultimately leading to his assassination at a young age of 27
Quote: Musical maestro A.R. Rahman said, “When you make a story about a musician from Punjab, in such a musically rich state of India, it’s always something special. So, Imtiaz and I decided to give our take on the storytelling musical and give it a twist, like a Broadway musical in certain parts. I loved how Imtiaz reinvented himself in the story. Working with Diljit was a pleasure; he is humble yet has a very colorful personality, and I love his growth as a musician, an artist, and an actor, and working with Parineeti Chopra as a singer was also really enjoyable. She was such a delight to work with. And of course, our amazing Irshad Kamil always comes with great lyrics. It is great to be a part of this project.”
According to director Imtiaz Ali, “It was very exciting to see Rahman sir dive into the heart of Panjabi music in Chamkila. We could not find a better muse to explore the vivacious and heart-wrenching landscape of Panjabi music than Amar Singh Chamkila, the highest record-selling artist of Panjab. It was fascinating to use some traditional musical styles and instruments in the album of Chamkila which have not been used for a long time. Also, there was no better person than Irshad Kamil to bring out the traditional strength of Panjabi boli in a contemporary style for this musical album. Based on the lives of the musical duo, Chamkila and Amarjot, the film always promised interesting music but casting Diljit and Parineeti enabled us to record many tracks live on location. We are very excited to see this album going to its audience worldwide.”
Music Video:
