The life of Punjabi singer Amar Singh Chamkila served as inspiration for the movie. Let’s look at the singer’s life and how he served as an inspiration for the movie.
Who Is Amar Singh Chamkila, The Man Behind the New Biopic by Imtiaz Ali?
The singer took on the stage name Amar Singh Chamkila when he started his musical career. He was born Dhani Ram in 1960 into a family of Chamars in the Punjabi village of Dugri near Ludhiana. Surinder Sonia, a female vocalist who helped launch Chamkila’s career, encouraged him to record his first debut album early on. The pair later went on to record eight duets and released the album Takue Te Takua in 1980.
- The boyish and suggestive lyrics in Chamkila’s songs made witty observations about extramarital relationships, alcoholism, and drug abuse.
Later, Chamkila collaborated on another album with singer Amarjot Kaur. Popularity of the couple grew not only among Punjabis living abroad but also within the province. At this time, it was rumoured that Chamkila was booking more concerts than his contemporaries. When researching his life, Gulzar Singh Shaunki found that Chamkila had performed 366 shows in 365 days at the height of his fame.
Chamkila has only recorded about 100 songs in his brief musical career of less than ten years, with about 200 songs still unreleased.
Death of Amar Singh Chamkila
In Mehsampur, Punjab, where he was scheduled to perform, Chamkila and his wife Kaur were shot to death in March 1988. The case remained unsolved and there were no arrests made.
His death sparked a number of conspiracy theories, such as a militant attack. A professional rivalry, or a “honour” killing as a result of his marriage to Amarjot.
The singer is survived by his son Jaiman Chamkila and two daughters Amandeep Kaur and Kamaldeep Kaur with his first wife Gurmail Kaur.
