Diljit Dosanjh's latest release Amar Singh Chamkila is hitting all the right notes with the movie buffs. The actor, along with his co-star Parineeti Chopra and director Imtiaz Ali, recently appeared as guests on The Great Indian Kapil Show. During their conversation, Imtiaz Ali shared a memorable moment when Shah Rukh Khan told him that Diljit is the best actor in the country. The filmmaker recalled, "Mujhe Shah Rukh Khan ne bola tha ki agar iss mulk mein sabse acha koi actor hai, toh woh apne Diljit paaji hai [Shah Rukh Khan told me Diljit is the best actor in the country]." Upon hearing this, Diljit was amazed and Parineeti exclaimed “Wow!”
On the same show, Imtiaz Ali also disclosed that if Diljit Dosanjh had turned down the project, the film might not have been made at all. The director shared, "Mujhe aisa lagta hai ki agar Diljit paaji ne mana kar diya hota toh ye film shayad ban hi nahi sakti thi [If Diljit had declined Amar Singh Chamkila, may be it would not have been made]. Toh we were very, very lucky. Iss se better cast nahi mil sakti thi [We could not have gotten a better cast]. Dono [both Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra] because Parineeti is an actor and a singer and also someone, who was ready to gain 15kg for this biopic. So it was wonderful."
In the biopic, Diljit Dosanjh plays the role of legendary Punjabi singer Amar Singh Chamkila, and Parineeti Chopra portrays his wife and co-singer, Amarjot Kaur. The film was released on Netflix on April 12.
In an NDTV review, film critic Saibal Chatterjee gave Amar Singh Chamkila 3.5 out of 5 stars and said, “Amar Singh Chamkila mourns the loss of a young life but talks up the defiant spirit of a driven man whose music, no matter how lowbrow it was by orthodox and politically correct reckoning, broke the boundaries of mortality.”
He continued, “The film's soundtrack is studded with Chamkila's own songs (rendered by lead actors Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra, among several others) and a complement of original compositions by A.R. Rahman ranging from the ballad-like and the romantic to the forcefully feminist.”
In addition to Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra, Amar Singh Chamkila features Nisha Bano and Anjum Batra in important roles.