Imtiaz Ali reflects on making Amar Singh Chamkila: 'Shot death scene exactly where he was killed'

Imtiaz Ali (Pic/AFP)

Imtiaz Ali's Amar Singh Chamkila has been nominated at the International Emmys in two categories - 'TV Movie/Mini-Series' and 'Best Performance by an Actor' for Diljit Dosanjh.

Imtiaz, along with producer Mohit Choudhary, attended the 53rd International Emmy World Television Festival's panel and medal ceremony.

Addressing the Panel, Imtiaz shared that for him, "Amar Singh Chamkila" is a love story between an art form and the artist.

Reflecting on the film's extraordinary journey from its roots, the director said, "Netflix's contribution to the film Amar Singh Chamkila is exceptional and irreplaceable. Initially, we were going through a lot of hiccups in making this film. But the moment Netflix stepped in and we decided to make this film direct-to-digital, all the problems disappeared. It was Netflix's deep conviction in the subject that carried the film through, and they were relentless in their efforts and encouragement, which gave me the confidence to make the film exactly how I wanted to make it."

Imtiaz added that he wanted to keep the film's focus on the love story between an art and an artist. He shared, "For me, this was a love story between an artist and his art. A singer and performance are like lovers, and at some point of time, you don't do it for money, success, and glamour, you do it for the performance itself, beyond any logic, to serve their audiences, and that was the strongest impulse in Amar Singh Chamkila's character, and that is what I focused on."

Earlier, Imtiaz recalled shooting with Diljit at the exact spot where the controversial singer was killed.

Remembering the day the crew returned to Mehsampur to recreate the death scene of Chamkila, he stated, "We were shooting the death scene at the exact spot where Chamkila was killed. What struck all of us was how nothing had changed. The house, the patch of ground outside it, even the koti where he had eaten lunch before he was shot, everything was exactly the same after 34 years."

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