Image was shared on Instagram. (courtesy: parineetichopra_obsession)

Mumbai:

Actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh on Thursday stated he was initially sceptical to be a part of Imtiaz Ali’s Hindi movie Amar Singh Chamkila as he felt the director would not have the ability to do justice with the life story of the late revolutionary Punjabi singer.

The upcoming drama will narrate the untold true story of Amar Singh Chamkila, who’s known as the ‘Elvis Presley of Punjab’. Regarded as top-of-the-line live-stage performers to have come from Punjab, Chamkila and his spouse, singing associate Amarjot had been killed in 1988.

In the Netflix movie, Dosanjh performs the title position with Parineeti Chopra starring as Amarjot. Dosanjh stated earlier than Ali approached him for the film, he had already been a part of a Punjabi movie titled Jodi, which revolved across the life story of Chamkila and Amarjot. The actor stated the film sadly could not see the sunshine of the day as a result of coronavirus pandemic.

“When I got to know that in Bollywood (Hindi), there’s a film being made on Chamkila, I wondered what (kind) of film they would make.

“When I obtained a name from Imtiaz sir, I believed he would sue us as he has the rights (to Chamkila’s story) and we did not have it. But he stated, ‘I need to solid you for the movie’. I stated, ‘We have already got the story. If you continue to assume that you just need to make a movie with me, we’ll see’,” Dosanjh said at the Next on Netflix event here.

However, Dosanjh’s perception changed after he heard the script of Ali’s movie and was amazed by the director’s attention to detail.

“I believed I knew rather a lot about Chamkila earlier than assembly him (Ali). When I heard his perspective, it was utterly completely different. It was a giant factor for us that his story was being stated in such a giant method. When sir supplied me the movie, I surrendered to his imaginative and prescient,” he said.

Ali, best known for films such as Jab We Met, Love Aaj Kal, and Rockstar, said he was keen to explore the story of Chamkila, whom he referred to as a “celebrity singer”.

“What I favored about Chamkila is that he’s a grassroots celebrity, and his songs are nonetheless being sung. He may be very common and he was a grassroots-level artist. We felt we must always make a movie on him,” the director said.

Composer AR Rahman and lyricist Irshad Kamil have contributed to the soundtrack of Amar Singh Chamkila. Dosanjh and Chopra have sung the songs in the movie.

Rahman said it was his “dream” to compose music for a film that had a connection to Punjabi music.

“It was an extended dream of mine to do a Punjabi music movie. When they approached me, they already had songs of Chamkila within the movie, and I used to be like, ‘The songs are already completed, so what is going to I do?’.

“Both Parineeti and Diljit have sung songs. We had our take for the movie, and made it like a musical. Some parts are like Broadway musicals where we have characters talking about Chamkila,” the music director added.

Rahman, who has labored with Ali on Highway, Rockstar, and Tamasha, believes the director has reinvented himself with the upcoming film.

Dosanjh stated he’s proud of the best way the movie’s music has turned out.

“I was wondering how they will do the music of the film, but when you have AR Rahman, Mohit Chauhan and Irshad Kamil ji then (it’s a great thing). The songs of Chamkila are in Punjabi but there are other songs being played in the background in Hindi. We have original songs of Chamkila,” he stated.

Dosanjh additionally praised co-star Chopra for nailing her character of Amarjot.

“Then I was thinking who will play the role of Amarjot, because she would sing tougher than Chamkila. But when they said, Parineeti ji… I’ve heard her songs… But to sing like Amarjot is a different thing, and she did very well,” he stated.

Chopra stated she learnt rather a lot from Dosanjh whereas engaged on the movie.

“When I signed this film, it was truly a dream role. Before shooting this film, I used to think I speak Punjabi well and I could sing songs well. Then I met Diljit ji, I got a reality check in both departments. I was a student in front of Diljit.

“I used to test my diction with Diljit. (That) I’m saying the phrase accurately or not, or how ought to I do it? The greatest problem for us was that we must always not sing like us. We needed to attempt to sing like Amarjot and Chamkila,” she added.

Amar Singh Chamkila is set to premiere on April 12 on Netflix. It is produced by Mohit Choudhary, Select Media Holdings LLP, Saregama, and Window Seat Films.