The Amar Singh Chamkila Review

 Amar Singh Chamkila is out and as expected it is winning accolades. When talents like Imtiaz, Diljit, Parineeti, and Rahman come together you expect fireworks. This movie is not just the work of Imtiaz-the director but Imtiaz-the artist and Imtiaz-the human. It is felt that Imtiaz has fallen in love with not only Chamkila but more than the slain singer he fell in love with his story. The film oscillates between Dhanni Ram and Chamkila. The vulnerabilities of Dhanni Ram made Chamkila and many of us who have gone through struggle especially class struggle can easily resonate with both Dhanni Ram and Chamkila. Imtiaz’s treatment of the movie is just beautiful. His use of the original clippings of both Chamkila and Amarjot only adds to the authenticity of the movie and then the picturization of Naram Kaalja tells you about the phenomena and rage that was Chamkila. Imtiaz has shown how much respect he has for Chamkila and for Amarjot. In the scene where Chamkila and Amarjot get intimate for the first time, any director of today would have slipped in a kiss but Imtiaz showed restraint and ended up creating a very beautiful series of visuals for the audience which do not demean the love Chamkila and Amarjot had for each other but also depicted the innocence of love very beautifully. Also, he did not compromise on casting. To me, the star of the movie is its casting. All actors from main leads to character actors, have been cast according to the demand of the character and not as per popular demand or what the market would have demanded. For this Imtiaz should be applauded. Any big actor would have easily worked with Imtiaz but he understood the importance of casting Diljit and his going ahead with this decision only helped the final product. Diljit was the right choice as he has proven it with his convincing portrayal of Amar Singh Chamkila and his musical and Punjabi background have only helped him in this regard but other than that it is interesting to note that he has already done a movie named “Jodi” that was loosely based on the lives of Chamkila and Amarjot. However, more than Diljit it is Parineeti’s Amarjot that wins you over. Nothing to take away from Diljit but Parineeti has worked very hard to live Amarjot. Diljit had no preconceived notion to beat but Parineeti had to outgrow or beat her Bollywood heroine tag which she has successfully done through this movie. Earlier, I had my reservations but as the movie progressed Parineeti won me over and by the time the movie ended, I had nothing but appreciation for her. Her mannerisms and expressions were spot on.

Rahman’s music is deeply ingrained in the plot. As the primary music material comes from Chamkila himself, Rahman’s compositions help take the movie forward and set the mood of the viewer. I have already talked about Naram Kaalja but Vida Karo too has its moments and leaves an impact on the listeners. The thing is Rahman understood his music’s role in the movie as it has been the case with other Imtiaz movies, in Amar Singh Chamkila too music tells the story, and Rahman’s music does it wonderfully.

The themes and sub-themes of this movie have touched upon our raw nerves and at times make you wonder and question our society's hypocrisy and its attempts to put cover on the inconvenient social truths. Also, this might be the reason why this movie has come out on Netflix as a cinematic release may have created an adverse reaction from certain quarters and lately the boycott trend has become a norm in India.

If you have reached this far, it means that you know I have liked the movie and at least one viewing is highly advisable but had this movie been in Punjabi, it would have looked more beautiful and closer to the subject source.