It has been a month since Imtiaz Ali’s 'Amar Singh Chamkila' was released on Netflix and has received numerous appreciations from all over the country. The storyline of the film encapsulates well with the current political scenario towards artists, where the question of morality is constantly being raised while talking about the liberty of the art they create.
Through the story of Amar Singh Chamkila (played by Diljit Dosanjh), the question of morality and art has been addressed so aptly that the viewers are compelled to rethink their perception about moral values. It doesn’t only stop at moral values; instead, it provides a huge commentary on sexual shame and how the music created by Chamkila goes beyond those societal boundaries.
It talks about the shame attached to sex and how moralists try to hide any discussions on sex, considering it to be pollutive to society, while in their secret personal space, they themselves listen to Chamkila’s songs.
The story doesn’t only limit itself to commenting on moral values but also raises the question of class and caste - who used to listen to Chamkila’s songs and how they are being ridiculed by upper-class people such as the inspector who investigated the death of Chamkila and the journalist who wrote critically on Chamkila’s songs.
On the backdrop of it, comes the privileges that people hold, people who can think and attempt to analyze what is moral or what is not. The character Chamkila himself says that not everyone has the privilege to think of what is right or wrong, and for people like him, they only need to survive somehow. He said he makes songs for the ‘chhote log,’ otherwise, he would be wiped out. He acknowledges that he is famous because this world has more ‘chhote log’ like him who listen to his songs and they don’t have the privilege to think about its righteousness.
The storyline of the film does include a variety of dynamics which makes it distinct to any other story and makes the film to become center of discussion. But apart from it, what makes it unique, what makes it a movie to be remembered and celebrated?
Since I watched this film, I constantly find myself thinking about it when I go to the set and see the shooting of the film I am working on. Having worked on biographical films, I understand the process and the amount of research and struggle that goes into making a biopic, and I believe this is one of the finest biopics ever made in Bollywood.
One of the finest assets that Imtiaz Ali has is Aarti Bajaj. Much like 'Rockstar,' I believe this film was mostly made in the editing room, and Bajaj has contributed as much to the output as Ali himself has. She knows how to bring those nuances that make this film stand out.
Why do I say this? Because the smart decision to use researched visuals as part of storytelling intrigued me. Biopics are mostly well-researched works, and we also have lots of photos and videos of the person we are making the biopic of, but we never thought of using them as creatively as Ali and Bajaj did in this film. The way original visuals of Chamkila and Amarjot (played by Parineeti Chopra) have been merged and transitioned with the actors playing their roles is mesmerizing. At the same time, this also gave the movie legitimacy, showing that they have recreated the actual incidents at their best.
Adding on to the recreation, Ali, along with Trupti Chavan and Sohini Mandal, has made interestingly smart decisions to not fall deep into the spiral of periodic drama. Instead, the set has been created in a minimal yet believable way, efficiently serving the purpose of showing a past time period without overdoing it.
The decision to mostly use one vehicle throughout the film could be seen as one of those cautionary measures by the art team. Simultaneously, choosing to shoot the film in the rural areas of Punjab, where the 1970s and 1980s period is still alive, certainly aided the art team in avoiding mishaps and making the set and film more believable to the audience. Additionally, to make the characters believable, it is the effort of Goswami Soamaa, known for their wonderful makeup work in films such as 'Sam Bahadur' (2023), 'Sanju' (2018), 'The Railway Men' (2023), and more. Soamaa added an extra layer to the film, helping Ali achieve believability from the audience. The actors looked so much like the characters they were playing that the path to enter the audience’s thoughts became much easier for Imtiaz Ali
Another great aspect of the film was Anil Mehta's visuals. I am amazed by how they used round trolley shots to show the musical journey of Chamkila while not overplaying it. The shots are not only visually appealing but also the fast changes in shots made the movie more engaging. When talking about engagement, we cannot deny the exceptional performances of the actors. Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra were flawless throughout the movie. Though Diljit often claims that he is not an actor, I strongly believe he is one of the finest actors we have in our film industry. It was quite interesting to see how the body language of both the actors changed as the intensity of the story increased.
While I appreciate Ali's body of work, I've never been a die-hard fan. I recall feeling let down by the storyline of 'Tamasha' (2015) and Ali's recurrent theme of female characters rescuing troubled male protagonists. However, this film deviates from the conventions of Ali's typical work. It surpasses Imtiaz Ali's usual style and ventures into new territory. Comparing it to 'Tamasha,' a different genre altogether, feels unjust. We shall evaluate this movie on its own merits, considering it a distinct addition to Imtiaz Ali's filmography.