Imtiaz Ali is on a high. His Chamkila on Netflix has ben received with unconditional positivity by the audience. He says he made sure that the biopic on the slain Punjabi singer wouldn’t offend anyone. “I have worked several times on the screenplay from the points of view of different groups and weeded out anything that could cause hurt to any party. I have consulted many people to ensure this. But my biggest confidence is in my belief that I mean this film with love to everyone, and with malice to none.”
Speaking on the genesis of the project Imtiaz says, “Rajesh Sharma, the head of Production for many of my films, including Jab We Met and Tamasha used to say that I should make a film on the life of Chamkila. I have been gathering snatches of life legend of Chamkila over years of shooting and travelling in Panjab and thereabouts. Then, just before Covid hit us, a film enthusiast by the name of Harpreet came down from Panjab to Mumbai with the tough-to-procure film rights of Chamkila, looking for me to make the film. In the middle of Covid,I made a visit to rural Panjab and that began the process of making the film. The research in this film was largely meeting and talking directly with people involved in Chamkila and Amarjot’s lives. I personally met everyone – Tiki, the old friend and Dholak Wala, Dhakkan the old announcer, Kikar the manager, Swaran Singh Silvia the friend and lyricist, family, friends, various people who watched his shows and met him. Many people who just lived in Panjab in those years and could relate to me the legend of Chamkila.”
Diljit Dosanjh was Imtiaz’s first and last choice for the role. “Diljit was the first name that came up for casting; however I was not sure whether he would be able to do this film. So it’s only after some time that I approached him and he was on from the word go. Now it is obvious to me, that the film could not have been made without him. He is A smalltown Panjabi from the same parts as Chamkila so has the same dialect, all his life he’s been listening to and sometimes even performing Chamkila songs, he understands every nuance of Chamkila’s behaviour and more than anything else He is a live singer of Punjabi songs. It was his participation that helped me define the treatment of the film.”
Imtiaz explains that the music of Chamkila is divided in two sections. One is the original music of Chamkila, which we have not tampered with, they remain in the original Panjabi and have been recorded live on location during filming by Diljit and Parineeti. This was a novel experience for all of us.The second section is the original songs of the film composed by AR. Rahman, written by Irshad in Hindi with a touch of Punjabi. We have six songs here. AR Rahman was a guiding star in this film which was about the life of a musician. He was a co-filmmaker rather than just a music director. Chamkila had not made songs on his own life and times, his feelings and relationships et cetera. The film songs, which play in the background, address these.”
Shooting in Punjab was an unbelievable experience for Imtiaz. “Filming in the back of beyond areas of Punjab, living with locals, gave me a sense of rootedness beyond the experience of the past many years. It was my ‘earthing’. have never met people as nice as I did in and around Sangrur in Panjab. There are tons and tons of Locals that participated in the film. the 300 odd women that you see in Naram Kaalja are all local – Actual farm, women et cetera. Most of the actors that you see in the film, In a way, including Diljit 🙂 And many others in big roles. And of course the support staff, the research team, the art and decoration team were all local. Working with all of them was a blessing.”