Picture: Netflix
Singer Amar Singh Chamkila was a sensation in Punjab in the late 1980s. At a time when conservative groups around the world protested explicit song lyrics, Chamkila defiantly sang about sex, booze, and violence. His controversial lyrics fueled his popularity, but made him infamous as well, leading to his tragic death before he turned 30.
When preparing the upcoming biopic Amar Singh Chamkila, filmmaker Imtiaz Ali made a couple of critical decisions. He opted to release it on Netflix and in the more widely spoken Hindi language instead of Punjabi. Ali tells Pinkvilla: “I wanted people that are not from Punjab [to] also see it and enjoy it. People perhaps that are not from this country and don’t even speak these native languages should be able to enjoy it.”
Ali is no stranger to movies about musicians, hitting it big at the box office with 2011’s Rockstar. Nor is he a stranger to Netflix. A third season of the undercover cop series She — which Ali created — is currently in the works.
To do justice to Chamkila’s legacy, Ali tapped the duo who helped him on Rockstar to write original music for the new film. Irshad Kamil handled the lyrics for Amar Singh Chamkila, while the film’s music is by A.R. Rahman, a two-time Oscar winner for his work on Slumdog Millionaire.
What’s the plot of Amar Singh Chamkila?
According to the Netflix press release:
The film charts the untold true story of Punjab’s original rockstar of the masses, the highest record-selling artist of his time, 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 on the way, which finally led to his assassination at a young age of 27.
Who is cast in Amar Singh Chamkila?
To play the legendary singer, director Ali turned to the current global face of Punjabi music, rapper and singer Diljit Dosanjh. Dosanjh brought his dynamic performance style to Coachella last year and joined Ed Sheeran on stage during the latter’s recent tour of India. Dosanjh is an accomplished actor as well, having played the title role in the Netflix Original film Jogi.
Parineeti Chopra plays Amar Singh Chamkila’s wife and on-stage partner, Amarjot Kaur. This is Chopra’s first time singing on film. She actually auditioned for the role in her car on the way to a birthday party, singing over Zoom for Ali, Rahman, and Dosanjh. In addition to learning how to sing professionally for Amar Singh Chamkila, she gained 15 kilos for her role. Chopra previously starred in the Netflix Original thriller The Girl on the Train.
What’s the release date of Amar Singh Chamkila?
Amar Singh Chamkila releases globally on April 12, 2024.
You can add Amar Singh Chamkila to your “Remind Me” Netflix queue here.
This is just one Indian movie of many Netflix has in the works for 2024 and beyond. You can see more of Netflix’s upcoming TV and movie slate from India here.
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