‘Who’s to decide what is right or wrong?’

The last time he told the story of a musician filmmaker Imtiaz Ali sealed his fate in the other world which in the words of 13th century poet Rumi was ldquothe field beyond right and wrongrdquo Seventeen years later Ali tells the story of another musician whose fate was unfortunately sealed more than three decades ago But this time around Rumirsquos words become the beginning of the story Therersquos no other way to step into the world of Amar Singh Chamkila Punjabrsquos controversial yet legendary musician of all time Ali says ldquoThe point was to get on with it Okay he sang double meaning songs You can judge him But letrsquos go beyond this Letrsquos not fight about whether he was right or wrong Letrsquos discuss what he loved In order to reach that you have to go past judgement As Chamkila would say lsquoTheek hai aap bolte ho mai galat hun Now letrsquos talk about what really moves my heartrsquo That becomes the bigger discussionrdquo he beginsChamkila stars Diljit Dosanjh in the titular role of the musician who composed wrote and sang raunchy suggestive duets with singer and second wife Amarjot during the lsquo80s The couple along with two members of their band were assassinated in 1988 Until his untimely demise Chamkila remained the most popular Punjabi artiste But parallelly to his rise rose the intense criticism against him from religious fundamentalists to sections of the media who found his work dangerous for the society To Ali who cowrote the film with filmmaker brother Sajid Ali what really spoke about Chamkila was how he became the source of cheer for the state of Punjab when it was surrounded by gloomldquoFor me the story of Punjab came before the story of Chamkila I knew this aspect of Punjab where grimness and celebration go hand in hand for a long time I have known the fact that all Indian love stories have been Punjabi love stories from Heer Ranjha to Soni Mahiwal I also know that the biggest tragic events in India have also happened in Punjab including the partition and the displacement So therersquos something very ironic about it When I then heard the story of Chamkila and discovered more about him I got into making this film on him because it reflected the same irony So much so that the purple patch of Chamkilarsquos career was one of the worst times of Punjab the lsquo80s when it burnt That is when Chamkila was on fire as well I also know this incident that a particular officer of HMV was in conversation with Chamkila and was accepting and perhaps even inspiring him to make more happy songs for the audience of Punjab which was going through darkness So in the anatomy of this conflict are both Punjab and Chamkila I wanted to go thererdquo shares the directorA biopic was never on the cards for Ali who has primarily helmed modern day romances But Chamkilarsquos tale gave him an outlet to say things that were personal to him ldquoIt so happened that in the story of Chamkila there happened to be so many things that I felt I wanted to say things that I felt were really hidden from the audiencerdquo Through the story of a man passionately and stubbornly in love with music Ali makes explicit commentary about an artistersquos relationship with hisher art and its impact on the society The questions raised during Chamkilarsquos time like what is good art if seeking moral superiority from art is valid and who decides what an audience should consume remain relevant even todayA much recent example of it is 2023rsquos divisive action drama film Animal headlined by Alirsquos frequent collaborator Ranbir Kapoor While it went on to become a roaring commercial success it was severely panned by a section of the audience and the media for its depiction of misogyny and violence Ali says while he takes his responsibility as a filmmaker seriously he believes personal opinions on a film shouldnrsquot turn into sweeping judgments about itldquoAs an artiste when I would put something across I will bear a sense of responsibility Not only in terms of morality but also in terms of giving the audience something that elevates their experience Something that they love but something that they havenrsquot seen before As far as criticising a particular film is concerned I feel that one should avoid because people should judge We are a democratic nation we believe in the power of people They will decide what they want If they donrsquot like a certain film they will not watch it Who is to decide whether itrsquos right or wrong Who casts the first stone I wouldnrsquot want to be that person I can say whether I like a certain song or a film or not I have the choice of not watching or listening But I canrsquot say this is wrong to be made or wrong for people or not suitable for people so they shouldnrsquot be allowed to watch it I donrsquot think anybody has that power to decide for peoplerdquo