Imtiaz Ali’s latest project Amar Singh Chamkila, which narrates the tragic story of the eponymous Punjabi singer, has been making headlines for all the right reasons. While Diljit Dosanjh plays the titular character, Parineeti Chopra portrays the role of his co-singer and wife Amarjot Kaur. In addition to Amar Singh Chamkila’s mercurial rise as a singer, the film also explores the relationship between him and Amarjot, who was his second wife. Before Amarjot, the performer was married to Gurmail Kaur, with whom he has two daughters. Shedding light on the complex family dynamics, Amarjot and Amar Singh Chamkila’s son Jaiman Chamkila had earlier shared that he is in touch with his father’s first wife, Gurmail and his stepsisters. In an interaction with Cine Punjabi, Jaiman shared: “I am in touch with Chamkila’s first family. I have two sisters from his first wife, Amandeep and Kamaldeep. The older one is married and has two kids, and Kamal is getting married this year [2023].”
He added: “When I go meet her [Gurmail], she greets me well but that’s it. From the beginning, it’s been this way. It is not her fault nor our (the children) fault.”
Jaiman, who grew up with his maternal grandparents, also shared that he organises a mela with his step-sisters in honour of their father on Amar Singh Chamkila’s death anniversary, every year.
Opening up about his parents’ tragic death and Gurmail Kaur’s thoughts on the tragedy, Jaiman, who is also a singer, revealed: “Sometimes we speak and she would say that if your father was around, we wouldn’t be in such a state. He worked really hard, people’s evil eyes impacted him; he had too many enemies. I have my sisters as well, we try to share our pain as much as we can.” Amar Singh Chamkila and Amarjot Kaur were gunned down by unidentified assailants in 1988 when they arrived to perform in Punjab’s Mehsampur.
Meanwhile, fans have been praising the film’s unique narrative choices and the lead actors’ performances. About playing the iconic character, Diljit Dosanjh, during his appearance on The Great Indian Kapil Show, said: “I used to think that because I am from Punjab, I would understand Chamkila better. But after I met Imtiaz, I completely surrendered to him. The way he stood, the way he spoke, the way he would react, and even the way he would think, Imtiaz had it all figured out because of his extensive research and homework that he had done on Chamkila.”
The biographical drama is available to stream on Netflix.
