Chamkila's enduring legacy: Imtiaz Ali's upcoming biopic explores his life

Nonika Singh

DILJIT DOSANJH is the bona fide badshah of Punjabi music who is forever in news, be it for his grand debut at Coachella music festival or for his spat with Kangana Ranaut or his open love for Kylie Jenner. Right now, however, Dosanjh is creating a buzz for a different reason. Soon we will see him stepping into the shoes of another singing legend, Amar Singh Chamkila, in an upcoming biopic helmed by renowned filmmaker Imtiaz Ali. As the ‘Jab We Met’ fame director puts four years of research into the making of his upcoming film ‘Chamkila’, beyond the stars associated with the biopic, we look at the real star, the phenomenon called Chamkila. How his legacy endures and what makes his fandom survive the onslaught of time?

For the unversed, Chamkila was a renowned Punjabi singer, born on July 21, 1960, in Dugri village near Ludhiana. The famed singer was slain on March 8, 1988, when he was just 27. Performing during the dark period of terrorism that engulfed Punjab in 1980s, he was both the product and victim of the times he lived in. If controversy was his middle name, his humongous fan following was his rivals’ envy. And his rise to the dizzying heights of success was the stuff fables are made of.

Noted singer Pammi Bai reminds us, “Let us not forget that he became an international star when social media was unheard of; when videos were non-existent and akharas determined your cult status.” It was in that period that his cassettes sold like hot cakes and his performances fetched him a king’s ransom. Often denounced for vulgar and double-meaning songs which he rendered with full gusto and in inimitable theth (pure) Punjabi in an equally rustic voice, he was often hailed as the singer of the downtrodden and looked down upon as one befitting the lowbrow tastes of the unsophisticated.

Celebrated Punjabi poet Surjit Patar acknowledges that he was indeed a great singer with a God-given voice whose religious songs are certainly worth tuning in to. Patar, however, isn’t sure whether Chamkila’s legacy is worth cherishing. “Art possesses the potential to make you plumb depths of depravity as well as elevate you to the height of sublimity. While a hard look at the baser instincts of mankind is alright, he only scratched the surface. I think, Chamkila fell into the trap of blatant commercialisation.”

Did he sell his soul? Folklore expert Nahar Singh observes that singing can never be seen as pure art and has to be viewed in the context of market. He insists, “Singers like him are essential as society needs safety valves to vent out repressed emotions. In the same continuum though, writing and singing on a vastly different subject stands Sidhu Moosewala. By talking of gun culture, Moosewala empowered those crushed by the system.”

The expert further adds, “According to our cultural norms, many things are taboo. Punjabi music exists both inside and outside the periphery of established norms. Thus, often what is forbidden in culture, finds expression in music.” No doubt in Chamkila’s songs, disapproved values alluding to illicit relationships existed in full measure. Nahar Singh finds in his songs the expression of male sexuality, the chauvinistic desire to subjugate women and the dominant thread of overarching Punjabi patriarchy.

Others like Kabir Singh Chowdhry, who has made a mockumentary, ‘Mehsampur’, on him, feels that his songs, largely duets with his wife and singing partner Amarjot Kaur, were not one-sided male point of view. He observes, “Here was an incessant dialogue throwing light on the aspects of society we choose not to see.” While the provocation for his untimely death at the hands of unidentified persons is often attributed to the provocative content of his songs, Kabir feels there was more than one reason why his rise angered and perturbed others. “More than the lyrics of his songs, there were other factors at play. Here was a Dalit who married an upper-caste woman. Apart from the caste angle perhaps, what made his rivals angry was his extraordinary pull and lure (over audiences.) So much so that people would desert the akharas of other prominent singers and flock to his.” Though he is often relegated to being a singer of truck drivers, Kabir insists all kind of listeners, old, young, women, flocked to his akharas. Opinions vary on what made him a pied piper or as Pammi says ‘an irresistible crowd puller’. His close associate and manager Kesar Singh Tikki still vividly recalls the day when he first met him back in 1978. Says Tikki, “Few could write like him. Fewer still could create compositions like him.” The singer, adept at playing harmonium and tumbi, had this great sense of rhythm. Come to think of it, when he first decided to become well-known singer Surinder Shinda’s disciple, he had little background in music, except abiding interest in playing instruments like toombi and harmonium. Literally coming from nowhere, he was suddenly everywhere. Not just in Punjab’s hinterland but in Canada and USA, too, his shows gained traction. And then, just prior to a performance at a wedding in Mehsampur, he was gone in a flash.

Kabir who would listen to him in his school days was intrigued by the ‘27-Club’ cultural phenomenon. Singers like Jim Morrison, Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix had died at the age of 27 between 1969 and 1971 and so did Chamkila in 1988 at 27. Deepa Rai, who has directed and played Chamkila in ‘22 Chamkila Forever’, reminds us of another uncanny coincidence. Like Moosewala, Chamkila, too, had a premonition and wrote songs about his death, even if in a subtle manner. Prophetic, tragic, fearless with a love story packed in… strictly from dramatic angle what can be a more potent story for real-to-reel life adaptation. ‘Jodi’ is yet another Punjabi film on singers of that era. Daljit Thind is producing the film that also stars Diljit and is based in the same time period and about duet singers. Thind says, “The real import of the man does not lie in his tragic death. Tragedy does not make him a hero. What makes Chamkila a legend is his extraordinary singing prowess and his magical voice.” Clearly, if fans can’t have enough of his songs, makers just can’t stop immortalising him on screen. UK-based Rai has already begun shooting part two and three of his film on him, chronicling his journey in Dubai, US and Canada. He is also planning a web-series on Chamkila. Rumour has it that ‘Jodi’ too is fashioned after Chamkila’s life.

Of course, all eyes are on what kind of magic Imtiaz Ali, the filmmaker known for his sensitivity and sensibility, will create. Right now his film is in post-production stage and the production house is tightlipped, closely guarding what all the film possibly entails. Chamkila’s family, too, has reservations about discussing matters pertaining to the film. Producer-actor Rahul Mittra, who plays a cameo in the biopic, assures Imtiaz’s commitment to his craft will be more than evident. Patar is confident that the film will not unnecessarily glamourise Chamkila. Adds the poet, “A maker like Imtiaz is only trying to comprehend the times and society he lived in and make us understand the phenomenon that he was.” But can a film decode his mystique and unravel his cult status?

Kabir, with years of research on Chamkila behind him, too, is planning to make another film, a fiction this time. He says, “All art, including cinema, is pursuit of truth.”

In this quest, one truth that will remain constant is that a bullet can kill a human being but not his voice. Whether it resounds in the upcoming films or on Spotify and YouTube where his listeners run into millions, it’s a voice that won’t be easily forgotten. In Mehsampur, where Chamkila, his wife and two other musicians of his band fell to assailants’ bullets, Kabir says, “His energy is palpable and unbelievable even today.” In one of his popular songs, ‘Pani Deya Bulbuleya’, he may have sang ‘Gya Naa Mudd Ke Aya Bandeya’, the singer returns time and again on screen. Off screen he lives on.

The short and starry journey

• Born as Dhanni Ram on July 21, 1960, and raised in a poor joint family, he acquired the stage name Amar Singh Chamkila.
• He wrote lyrics for his own songs and also for other Punjabi singers like Surinder Shinda (‘Main Diggi Tilak Ke’), Jagmohan Kaur (‘Gabru Nu Marda’), KS Kooner (‘Deor Naal Nach Bhabiye’).
• Among Chamkila’s most streamed songs are ‘Pehle Lalkare Naal Main Darr Gai’ , ‘Kan Kar Gal Sun Makhna’ , ‘Ki Jor Gariban Da’, ‘Kal Bhaven Jind Kadh Layen’, ‘Daru Tan Nal Jatt De’, ‘Gora Gora Rang’ and Pani Deya Bulbuleya’. The song, ‘Takue Te Takua’ with his first singing partner Surinder Sonia, too, had created a sensation.
• Many conspiracy theories abound about his killing, including it being a militant attack, professional rivalry or ‘honour’ killing as a fallout of his marriage to Amarjot.
• At the peak of his career, he is believed to have done 366 shows in 365 days with three shows in a day.
• The singer is survived by two daughters Amandeep Kaur and Kamaldeep Kaur with first wife Gurmail Kaur and a son Jaiman Chamkila with Amarjot Kaur. Kamaldeep is also a singer, who has released her albums, some of which contain unsung lyrics written by her father.
• In a short career of barely a decade, he recorded nearly 100 songs. Almost 200 remain unrecorded. His widely popular song ‘Jatt Di Dushmani’ has been recorded by many singers. British-Indian rapper Panjabi MC who remixed his song, ‘Kaadha Soorma’ in 2007 considers him a huge musical influence.