Chamkila Web Review: Dil jit liya, Paaji!

ChamkilaOn NetflixDir Imtiaz AliCast Diljit Dosanjh Parineeti ChopraRating 355Imtiaz Alirsquos Chamkila is a fullon musicalmdashdown to translations of songs in Punjabi flashing across the screen in Hindi in Roman lettersIf I recall right Alirsquos Jab Harry Met Sejal 2017 was the first mainstream movie to use Hindi subtitles in Roman script Also in this filmrsquos opening credits characters break the fourth wallmdashlooking straight into the cameramdashwhile the song is on The tone is sufficiently setThis is also a musical in a western sense wherein the lead actor is also the lead singer That is Diljit Dosanjh performing live as the eponymous Amar Singh Chamkila the most popular musician around the pinds of Punjab Like Dosanjh himselfOpposite him as Chamiklarsquos onstage duet partner Amarjot Kaur is Bollywood actor Parineeti Chopra Leading up to this film Chopra had been quite badly trolledmdashcatcalled ldquoLata Matgayakarrdquo ldquoVery talented but keep it hiddenrdquomdashas a clip of hers screwing up Fareeda Khanumrsquos Aaj jaane ki zid na karo at a fullfledged concert emerged onlineChopra can sing to save her life in Chamkilamdashenough to even reprise the hard life of Kaur No she canrsquot match the hero of course But thatrsquos smartly built into the character as Chamkila works on the voice of his singing partner later wifemdashfirstly to rid her of the ldquoshehri lehzardquo urban twang Kaur lost her life along with Chamkila to alleged terrorists right before their concert in 1988 Thatrsquos the opening shot The picture focusses on his life until their death 1977 onwardsFlitting between childhood chronologically flashing back to his youth shifting to the present deadbody and those left behind juxtaposing music with graphic art clever soundcutsThis is a smartly edited film Aarti Bajaj Itrsquos hard to figure though how many more minutes shouldrsquove been hacked further to arrive at a much tighter narrative stillThat said therersquos something instantly meditative about the moments when Dosanjh strums the opening riffs of a ditty on the singlestringed toomba before a live audience in a village of a finely preserved rsquo80s Punjab thatrsquos looking on the same way as those before the screen on Netflix As if experiencing Chamkila himselfTo begin with this is hardly possible with desi flicks when a song so weirdly modulates between actors and their playback voices But thatrsquos not allItrsquos also the naturally sweet innocent Dosanjh so seamlessly transferring his soul to an imagined star Chamkila a fellowsinger he probably himself grew up idolising Feels as authentic as it getsChamkila wished to see himself on the screen once his character says in the movie So does the fellow hersquos speaking to ldquoItrsquos a Punjab thing I guessrdquo Dosanjh has over 80 credits on IMDb many of which are blockbusterbudget music videos hersquos starred in Like most top Punjabi musiciansAmong films his other biopic in Hindi Shaad Alirsquos Soorma 2018 also set around Punjab violence remains his most underratedunderwatchedIrsquom tempted to click on Ali Abbas Zafarrsquos Jogi 2022 thatrsquos showed up on my Netflix timeline Certainly not Dosanjhrsquos Jodi 2023 also based on Chamkila Couldnrsquot even sit through the trailer And thatrsquos fineSeldom do so many things fall into place so aptly The subject matching the star AR Rahman delivering music thatrsquos totally as per the scriptrsquos milieubrief Rather than a generic multigenre soundtrack Irshad Kamil on the writing keyboardmdashno lyricist could exude the earthy rsquo80s pind betterAnd of course Ali cowriter along with brother Sajid and directormdashfully in control of the materialmdashwhorsquos similarly delved into vital questions of art vs artiste fame and its pitfalls within the phenomenal musical Rockstar 2010 inspired by the Punjabi legend Heer RanjhaAlirsquos had a strangely cold streak aforementioned Jab Harry Met Sejal onwardsmdashin particular Love Aaj Kal 2020 or even stuff helmed as producer Thai Massage 2022 series such as She 2020 Dr Arora 2022 Maybe he had littlenothing to say besides the thought of getting on set per seThrough the folk singer Chamkila knownderided for his vulgar lyricsmdashsuch a common motif of folk music after allmdashAli gathers a courageous voice to question who defines obscenity anywayApart from religious fanaticism and violence the caste anglemdashalthough only briefly touched uponmdashlends Chamkliarsquos story an added layer Dhani Ram aka Amar Singh aka Chamkila belonged to the lowchamar caste Something that mustrsquove permanently defined his position in a pindIntense popularity from sheer talent helped him transcend his circumstances The world is what it is He learnt to be And then they didnrsquot let him beHonestly I donrsquot know what to make of ldquosexila tharkila ganda bandardquo Chamkilamdashwhether to see him as IsmatManto kinda iconoclast or simply a chartbusting Bhojpuri Lollyop singer providing visceral joy to a willing publicIrsquom glad the film doesnrsquot influence you either way Besides to see him in the context of a musician dealing with stuff in his 20s He died 27 like the infamous 27 Club Hendrix Joplin Morrison CobainI didnrsquot know Chamkila growing up in Delhi when Gurdas Maan Malkit Singh were more popularPunjabi music itself has only lately become immeasurably western mainstream where Dosanjh gigs at Coachella or jams with Ed Sheeran That we access Chamkila through him should give this precious piece of popculture history an even greater global relevanceappeal

Chamkila Web Review: Dil jit liya, Paaji!

Chamkila
On: Netflix
Dir: Imtiaz Ali
Cast: Diljit Dosanjh, Parineeti Chopra
Rating: 3.5/5

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast

Home / Entertainment / Web Series / Article / Chamkila Web Review: Dil jit liya, Paaji!

Chamkila Web Review: Dil jit liya, Paaji!

ChamkilaOn: NetflixDir: Imtiaz AliCast: Diljit Dosanjh, Parineeti ChopraRating: 3.5/5

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast

Chamkila
On: Netflix
Dir: Imtiaz Ali
Cast: Diljit Dosanjh, Parineeti Chopra
Rating: 3.5/5