Based on the life of slain Punjabi singer Amar Singh Chamkila, Imtiaz Ali’s directorial biopic debuted on Netflix on April 12. Ever since its release, the film, headlined by Dijit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra, has been receiving massive critical acclaim for its story and performances. The artist, who was shot dead at the age of 27, rose to fame by singing folk songs laced with lewd lyrics along with his partner and second wife Amarjot Kaur (portrayed by Parineeti in the film). In a new interview, Chamkila’s daughter from first wife Amandeep Kaur shared how they are disappointed with the director. 

Why is Chamkila’s daughter disappointed with Imtiaz Ali?

In an interview with the YouTube channel Switch, Amandeep Kaur, the oldest daughter of Amar Singh Chamkila shared her astonishment with the final product by Imtiaz Ali. She mentioned narrating several anecdotes and giving a lot of information about her family to the filmmaker which was omitted in the movie. She also recalled her mother performing the final rites of Amar Singh Chamkila which was not shown in the film. 

She shared, “They showed everyone from Amarjot’s family, but no one from our family. My bua, chacha, no one was shown.” Amandeep mentioned, “We are upset with him. How could he do this?” She shared that even though he showed a photograph from the funeral in the credit scene, he did not mention her mother. Additionally, she was also upset about her photo not featuring in the film despite meeting the filmmaker for the process. 

Amar Singh Chamkila’s first wife lauds Diljit Dosanjh’s portrayal

In an interview with Love Punjab YouTube channel, Amar Singh Chamkila's first wife said that watching Diljit Dosanjh portray her husband's character sent shivers down her spine. Talking about Diljit's on-screen presence in the film, Gurmail Kaur said, "Watching him play Chamkila sent a shiver down my spine. It felt like they’d chosen someone of equal stature to play him… He was dressed in the same way, he had the same haircut,” she said. Asked if she’ll hug him when she meets him in Mumbai for the film’s premiere, she said, “Of course. I hugged him when I met him on set as well. The boy knows me from before."

Amar Singh Chamkila presents the untold true story of Punjab's original rockstar of the masses, who emerged from the shadows of poverty and rose to the heights of popularity in the 80s due to the sheer power of his music, angering many along the way, which finally led to his assassination at the young age of 27.