Imtiaz Ali reflects on emotional compulsion of making ‘Amar Singh Chamkila’

Director Imtiaz Ali believes that some films are not logical choices but emotional compulsions and Amar Singh Chamkila was exactly that The movie that recently has won a nomination at the International Emmy Awards has made both fans and Imtiaz Ali thrilled and overwhelmed Speaking exclusively with IANS the filmmaker shared how faith drew him to tell the story of Punjab Ali revealed that Chamkilas name had been suggested to him many times during shoots in Punjab but he never felt readyRight issues and his limited knowledge held him back ldquoEvery time I used to go and shoot in Punjab people used to tell me the story of Chamkila ndash lsquoYou know there was this guy in the 1980s and he was the biggest phenomenon Theres never been a musical star like that in Punjab He was so popular and his life was so dramatic and tragic they would say They would ask Why wasnt I considering making a movie on his lifeAli added ldquoThen I realised that many of my friends and many people in the Bombay film industry had tried to make a film on his life I never had the thought that I should make a film on him because I didnt know much about him at that point in time Also I knew that there was some issue about the rights to the film of his liferdquoImtiaz elaborating on how Chamkila was a movie destined for him said ldquoOne day a guy called Harpreet just walked into the office during the pandemic and just said that he had managed for the first time to get the rights to the film and that he wanted me to work on the movierdquoAli added ldquoHe had nothing to do with the film industry but he was the one who thought that I should make it Just a person from nowhere just a man on the street can do you a big favour which a multimillionaire cantrdquo For Imtiaz Ali Chamkilas story of staggering fame in the 1980s and his tragic end was waiting to be told ldquoIn a way it was destinyrdquo he said calling the project a blessingTalking about Amar Singh Chamkila to IANS Monika Shergill VP Content at Netflix added that the films global recognition at the International Emmy Awards is proof that deeply local stories can resonate worldwide ldquoIt belongs to everyone As an Indian itrsquos lovely to see a distinctive film like this nominated internationallyrdquo she saidShe continued ldquoI actually would say that the world is suddenly waking up to the power of music in storytelling You know if I were to look at Kpop Demon Hunters its the biggest film ever on Netflix And the music of it is trending all around the world I mean Chamkila came before thatElaborating further she stated ldquoWith Chamkila being recognised through this nomination and all the awards Chamkila has won all the love that has come Chamkilas way the social media phenomenon the songs the reels ndash with all of it I think the world is actually experiencing it through different stories from IndiardquoCiting examples of other blockbusters Shergill said Same thing with RRR the way Natu Natu travelled So I feel Chamkila is in that line of greats where it is taking the culture from India and actually giving a very different grammar of storytelling to the world To have a story and music go hand in hand and actually be so defining for people universally ndash I think thats something special that Chamkila has done and achieved It just shows that we dont need to change thatAmar Singh Chamkila which released in 2024 featured Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra in the leadThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever