Amar Singh Chamkila

"This is a fantastic film (one of my personal favorites of the year so far)! This is a well-crafted and thought-provoking Bollywood musical biopic of Amar Singh Chamkila, who was a massively popular (and controversial) singer from the Indian state of Punjab in the 1980s, showing his rise and eventual assassination in 1988 at only 27 years old, highlighting what made him resonate so strongly with the masses at the time. This film highlights how childhood surroundings can influence the kind of art an artist puts out and also make the viewer think about what are acceptable forms of artistic expression. Phenomenal direction by Imtiaz Ali that combines animation, live action and documentary footage in such imaginative ways, not to mention also creatively showing translated lyrics for his Punjabi songs on screen for Hindi-speaking audiences to understand (English subtitles also available here) and also effortlessly combines 2 different timelines (I’ve loved Imtiaz Ali’s work in JAB WE MET (2007), ROCKSTAR (2011), and HIGHWAY (2014) where storytelling approaches are unique in each). It doesn’t shy away from the less savory aspects of his life either. Equally integral to the storytelling is the dynamic score by 2-time Oscar winner A. R. Rahman, whose score sets the mood of the scenes incredibly well (fantastic original songs composed by him too). Stellar cinematography, production values, and editing as well. None of this would be possible without the commanding leading performance by Diljit Dosanjh in the title role, who effortlessly inhabits the role and makes you connect with the emotions of the character’s journey. The fact that Diljit is a singer in real life actually serves to further increase the believability of his performance (one of the best leading performances I’ve seen so far this year). Parineeti Chopra is equally fantastic as Amarjot (his singing partner and later wife). Highly recommended IMO."