Amar Singh Chamkila Review: Diljit Dosanjh breathes life and music into late Punjabi singer’s biopic; Parineeti Chopra delivers pitch perfect performance

Film:
Amar Singh Chamkila Review

Director: Imtiaz Ali

Star cast: Diljit Dosanjh, Parineeti Chopra, Udaybir Sandhu, Anjum Batra, Apinderdeep Singh

Runtime: 2 hours 26 mins

Platform: Netflix

Amar Singh Chamkila Review

Amar Singh Chamkila starring Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra is a biopic on the Punjabi pop singer who was called the ‘Elvis of Punjab’. He was killed at the age of 27 along with his wife Amarjot Singh for singing songs people claimed were vulgar and spoiled society. Despite being extremely successful, the duo were shot dead in broad daylight by a gang of motorcyclists on 8 March 1988. Director Imtiaz Ali gives life to this story and beautifully narrates it, making it a power-packed musical drama. He captures his journey from ‘no one’ to ‘the one ‘.

Story

Set in 1988, the film is about a young talented man named Amar Singh Chamkila who has been passionate about music since childhood. Day and night, the only thing that works in his head is music, and hence he decides to work on music and starts writing songs based on events he sees around in society. Be it sex or violence, Amar used to pen them down into a song. In no time, he becomes a rage and a star in Punjabi music. Chamkila’s vivid language, high-pitched vocals, and novel compositions, accompanied by the tunes of the Tumbi, made him famous. However, Amar Singh Chamkila and his wife Amarjot Kaur’s life take a different turn when they start getting death threats from various people for the content of their music. Despite a sword hanging over his head, he continued to sing – even during the 1984 Emergency in Punjab, and became the Elvis of Punjab. However, their happiness was short-lived when they were mercilessly shot dead in daylight.

What’s best about Chamkila

Diljit Dosanjh: This man is a true master of his craft. Diljit is an all-rounder, excelling in singing, dancing and performing. He portrays his character with great care and conviction, making it feel like it was tailor-made for him. Diljit plays Amar Singh Chamkila with diligence, beautifully portraying his emotions, whether it is innocence, fear or showing energy while singing. He effortlessly makes it work and proves himself to be a skilled actor. If you have been a fan of his music until now, you will become a fan of him as an actor as well after watching the movie.

Storyline: Kudos to Imtiaz Ali for presenting the untold story of Amar Singh Chamkila to the audience. In today’s generation, very few people, including myself, know about this singer named Chamkila. Imtiaz, who also wrote the story along with Sajid Ali, beautifully narrates the story through music.

Music: The foundation of Chamkila lies in its music, which comprises shining and vivid songs. With A R Rahman composing the songs, it is impossible not to fall in love with them. His peppy yet impactful songs enhance the script and make it even more enjoyable. Director Imtiaz has added some original soundtracks to the movie, in addition to using the original music of Chamkila. Songs like Ishq Mitaye and Bajaa are fabulous and have the power to stir your heart.

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Cinematography:

In the movie, there is a beautiful romantic scene between Amar Singh and Amarjot. The scene is shot in an aesthetically pleasing manner. As the two characters fall in love, the tone of the movie changes completely. Imtiaz adds a softer tone and sepia filter to convey their romance to the viewers. The romantic scene looked poetic and left a lasting impact on the viewers. Additionally, the movie also showcases Chamkila’s career graph, starting from his struggling days. This shift – also shot with great finesse, adds to the overall quality of the movie.

Editing: One of the best parts of the movie is Imtiaz including real-life pictures and videos of Amar in the film. It’s beautiful how he keeps most of the elements raw and authentic, which helps the audience connect to the story, especially since it’s based on true events. Furthermore, the use of original photographs and posters of Chamkila and Amarjot in the film was a smart and effective move. The editing between the reel and the real one by Aarti Bajaj is brilliantly done without making it look forced or abrupt. She also adds spunkiness to the movie by using comic-style filters and animation.

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Direction: Imtiaz Ali is known for his unique storytelling style that portrays deep meaning in every character and scene. However, it seems that his touch is partially missing in his latest movie, Chamkila. Although this is not a drawback of the movie, Imtiaz’s vision and magic are only visible in bits and parts. Unfortunately, viewers don’t get to experience his full potential throughout the film.

What’s not

Screenplay: The first half of the movie was enjoyable and easy to follow, but the latter half felt like it was unnecessarily prolonged, which made it hard to stay engaged. The pace of the story slows down significantly, and it takes a long time to reach the climax, which is ultimately underwhelming after all the build-up.

Star performance

Diljit Dosanjh is the heart of Amar Singh Chamkila. Given he is himself a great and popular singer, it seems very easy and natural for him. You can see how he adapts the character and how he is living it to the fullest onscreen. There are some scenes where Amar Singh is seen humming the songs or creating new music for his next album. The process of doing it looks so natural that you forget he’s even acting onscreen. From his look to his way of singing, he splendidly transforms himself into Amar Singh Chamkila.

Parineeti Chopra is the backbone of the story. She backs the story with great power and dedication. Parineeti as Amarjot Kaur is beautiful, innocent and talented. You can see her hard work in playing the character, to match up to Diljit’s presence. Despite this, Parineeti stands firm and doesn’t let anything overshadow her. She shines like a rockstar as Amarjot.

Conclusion

Concluding the review, Amar Singh Chamkila is one of the most beautiful and musical movies of 2024. Diljit Dosanjh is the highlight of the movie and will leave you awestruck with his impactful performance. On the other hand, Imtiaz Ali’s directing skills are impeccable as he casts a spell with his storytelling whereas AR Rahman’s composition gives a different meaning to this movie. Amar Singh Chamkila indeed shines bright like a star and is a must-watch movie of 2024.

Watch Amar Singh Chamkila trailer post the review

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