13th April,2024, Mumbai: Discussing his recently released biographical film, Amar Singh Chamkila, was Imtiaz Ali’s recent appearance on the IMDb original series “On The Scene.” The 1980s musical sensation duo Amar Singh Chamkila and Amarjot Kaur, whose songs became enormous blockbusters, served as the inspiration for the film. Intriguing details about the film were revealed by the filmmaker, who also discussed the difficulties Parineeti Chopra had while trying to recreate Amarjot’s soundtrack and how he persuaded Diljit Dosanjh to play Chamkila.
What draws Imtiaz towards actors who are artists?
“I’ve made films with artists,” the filmmaker said in response to a question on what makes him gravitate towards performers who are artists. Being a writer and director doesn’t seem to be the reason I do it. Yet, I’m also drawn to the lives of characters who, to use clichés, “cross the line” and do surprising actions that heighten the drama in their tales for the big screen.
How Imtiaz Ali Convinced Diljit Dosanjh For Chamkila
In response to a question regarding how he persuaded Diljit to play Chamkila given that the actor had previously played a character based on the character, Ali replied, “When I spoke to him, I assumed that since he is a musician, he would have heard about Chamkila from his childhood, especially being from the same area as Chamkila.” He thus had complete knowledge of Chamkila. He had previously made a movie that was somewhat based on Chamkila’s life experiences, I discovered when I spoke with him for the first time. I had done a lot of research, though, so I was well-versed in this particular subject. People who knew Chamkila and Amarjot when they were living 36 years ago told me stories, and I met several of them. I became friends with Tikki, Chamkila’s close friend and dholak player. His unpredictable personality had a big impact on Chamkila.
“I’ve met Tikki multiple times,” continued Ali. He started crying and told me things that he later realised were wrong or fixed. I encountered him more than once, which is why. Even that he had cursed Chamkila’s death was mentioned. Hence, for me, research meant going to areas where Chamkila had lived and meeting the people she had encountered, like the Ludhiana office where all the singers and artists gathered together. I met more folks in Punjab as my curiosity increased. What makes it interesting is that Chamkila had a talent for capturing the attention of large audiences. As artists and filmmakers, we would all love to have that kind of understanding.
What Challenges Parineeti Chopra faced in recreating Amarjot’s music?
Imtiaz Ali answered, “Chamkila’s compositions are always very high pitched, so for a woman to match that was extremely difficult,” when questioned about the difficulties Parineeti Chopra encountered in reproducing Amarjot’s music. Because of the thinner quality of her voice and the fact that Chamkila occasionally arranged Amarjot’s sections even higher, it is harder for a woman to sing at the same pitch and scale as a man. When it came to singing such high notes, Amarjot was not very good. In the movie, Parineeti Chopra had to sing constantly at a high pitch, which is a challenging task. She put in a lot of practise because her career is largely acting and not singing. Additionally, we sought the assistance of Kittu, a singing diction instructor from Chamkila’s hometown of Ludhiana, who instructed Diljit as well as Parineeti. We took care to make sure they were ready because we knew they would be performing live.