Amar Singh Chamkila

Amar Singh Chamkila (21 July 1960 – 8 March 1988) was an Indian singer and musician of Punjabi music. Chamkila and his wife Amarjot were killed, along with two members of their band on 8 March 1988 in an assassination which remains unresolved.

Amar Singh Chamkila
Background information
Birth nameDhunni Ram
Also known asChamkila
Born(1960-07-21)21 July 1960
Dugri, Ludhiana, Punjab, India
Died8 March 1988(1988-03-08) (aged 27)
Mehsampur, Punjab, India Website
GenresPunjabi duets, solos, folk, religious
Occupation(s)Singer, musician, composer
Instrument(s)Vocals, tumbi, harmonium, dholak
Years active1979-1988
LabelsHMV
Spouse(s)Amarjot

Amar Singh Chamkila is regarded as one of the best live stage performers that Punjab has ever produced and extremely popular with the village audience. His monthly bookings regularly outnumbered the number of days in the month. Chamkila is generally regarded as one of the greatest and influential Punjabi artists of all time.

His music was heavily influenced by the Punjabi village life he was surrounded by growing up. He commonly wrote songs about extra-marital relationships, coming of age, drinking, drug use, and the hot tempers of Punjabi men. He earned a controversial reputation, with his detractors regarding his music obscene, and his supporters regarding it a truthful commentary on Punjabi culture and society.[1]

His best-known hits include "Pehle Lalkare Naal" and his devotional songs "Baba Tera Nankana" and "Talwar Main Kalgidhar Di". Though he never recorded it himself, he wrote the widely popular "Jatt Di Dushmani" which has been recorded by many Punjabi artists. He became famous as a result of his first ever recorded song "Takue Te Takua".

Early life and career

Amar Singh Chamkila was born as Dhanni Ram on 21 July 1960 in a family belonging to Ravidasia Sikh Chamar community in the village of Dugri near Ludhiana, Punjab, India. The youngest child of Kartar Kaur and Hari Singh Sandila, he was educated at Gujar Khan Primary School in Dugri. His aspirations of becoming an electrician were unfulfilled and he found work at a Ludhiana cloth mill.[2]

Rise to fame

Career in music

With a natural aptitude for music, he learned to play the harmonium and dholki. In 1978, Chamkila approached Surinder Shinda for the first time on a bicycle with his best friend Kuldeep Paras. When Shinda heard the 18-year-old Chamkila sing, he finally found the protege that he had been looking for. Chamkila would go on to play alongside Punjabi folk artists such as K. Deep, Mohammad Sadiq and Shinda. He wrote several songs for Shinda and accompanied him as a member of his entourage before deciding to pursue a solo career.

Adopting the stage name Amar Singh Chamkila – Chamkila in Punjabi means one that glitters. Chamkila first partnered up with the female vocalist Surinder Sonia[3] who had previously worked with Surinder Shinda. Sonia had felt sidelined after Shinda took Gulshan Komal to a tour in Canada, after which she was instrumental in pushing Chamkila to record his debut album. The pair recorded eight duets and released the album "Takue Te Takua" in 1980 with music produced by Charanjit Ahuja. The cunningly worded lyrics, which he had written himself, became hits across Punjab.

In 1980, Chamkila felt he was significantly underpaid by Surinder Sonia's manager (her husband) and decided to form his own group. Chamkila established short-lived stage partnerships with Miss Usha Kiran, Amar Noorie and others.[4]

Chamkila was struggling to find a long-term co-singer to record songs with until fellow Punjabi singer Kuldeep Manak suggested Amarjot Kaur, who had been singing infrequently with Manak and had even featured on his latest album. Not much is known about Amarjot Kaur, except for the fact that she was previously married but left the marriage to pursue her dream of singing.She would go on to become Chamkila's permanent singing partner providing the female vocals for his duets, that is, the majority of the songs that he wrote.Shamsher singh sohi also written a book on amarjot's life Amarjot De Aakhree Bol.[5]

Amar singh Chamkila, for the most part, wrote his own lyrics, the majority of which were boyish and suggestive, yet fluent, commentaries on extramarital affairs, alcohol and drug use. The couple's appeal grew not only in the Punjab, but they quickly raced to international stardom among Punjabis abroad. Around this time, Chamkila was rumoured to be receiving more bookings than his contemporaries. The biography "Awaz Mardi Nahin" by Gulzar Singh Shaunki found during its research that at the height of his popularity Chamkila had performed 366 shows in 365 days.[6]

Assassination

Having arrived to perform in Mehsampur, Punjab, both Chamkila and Amarjot were gunned down as they exited their vehicle on 8 March 1988 at approximately 2PM. A gang of motorcyclists fired several rounds, fatally[7] wounding the couple and other members of the entourage. However, no arrests were ever made with connection to the shooting and the case was never solved.[8][9] It is alleged to have been done by Sikh militants.[10][11]

Legacy

Influence

Indian film composer Amit Trivedi called Chamkila "a legend, the Elvis of Punjab."[12]

British Indian musician, Panjabi MC, cites Chamkila as one of his musical influences.[13]

Mehsampur is a 2018 Indian mockumentary film based on Chamkila's life, produced and directed by Kabir Singh Chowdhry.[14]

Imtiaz Ali is making a film based on his life, starring Diljit Dosanjh as Chamkila and Parineeti Chopra as his wife, Amarjot.[15]

Discography

Chamkila's studio recordings were released by HMV as LP records and EP records during his lifetime. Though several compilation albums have been released since his death, the following CDs compiled by Saregama comprise nearly all of Chamkila's studio recordings:

  • Amar Singh Chamkila Surinder Sonia (EP) [1981]
  • Surinder Sonia & Amar Singh Chamkila (EP) [1982]
  • Mitra Main Khand Ban Gai (EP) [1983]
  • Chaklo Driver Purje Nun (EP)
  • Jija Lak Minle (LP) [1983]
  • Hikk Utte So Ja Ve (LP) [1985]
  • Bhul Gai Main Ghund Kadna (LP) [1985]
  • Rat Nun Sulah-Safaiyan (EP) [1985]
  • Sharbat Vangoon Ghut Bhar Laa (LP) [1987]
  • Baba Tera Nankana
  • Naam Jap Le (1986)
  • Talwar Main Kalgidhar Di Haan (1985)
  • Yaad Aave War War (LP) [1988] (released after his death)

Posthumous albums
  • 2014 The Diamond

See also

References
  1. "The Elvis of Punjab". 24 July 2016 – via The Economic Times - The Times of India.
  2. Barnala, Puneet (12 March 2023). "ਅਮਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਚਮਕੀਲਾ: ਛੋਟੇ ਜਿਹੇ ਪਿੰਡ ਦਾ ਧਨੀ ਰਾਮ ਕਿਵੇਂ 'ਚਮਕੀਲਾ' ਬਣ ਕੇ ਗਾਇਕੀ ਦੇ ਅਰਸ਼ਾਂ ਤੱਕ ਪਹੁੰਚ ਗਿਆ" [Amar Singh Chamkila: How Dhani Ram from a small village became 'Chamkila' and reached the heights of singing]. BBC News Punjabi (in Punjabi).
  3. Sidharth Banerjee (24 July 2016). "The Elvis of Punjab | Chandigarh News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  4. Correspondent, BizAsia (3 August 2020). "Music Review: G.O.A.T by Diljit Dosanjh". BizAsia | Media, Entertainment, Showbiz, Brit, Events and Music. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  5. "Jinxed, yet not forever". Tribune India. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  6. Shaunki, Gulzar Singh (2004). Awaz mardi nahin: Jiwani Amar Singh Chamkila. Samana: Sangam Publishers. p. 128. OCLC 651954588.
  7. Kappal, Bhanuj (27 May 2018). "Who killed the 'Elvis of Punjab'?". mint. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  8. "The unsolved murder mystery of Amar Singh Chamkila". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  9. Khan, Murtaza Ali (25 January 2019). "In search of Chamkila". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  10. Roy, AnjaliGera (5 July 2017). Bhangra Moves: From Ludhiana to London and Beyond. Routledge. p. 162. ISBN 978-1-351-57400-6.
  11. Sandhu, Amandeep (5 December 2022). Panjab: Journeys Through Fault Lines. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. ISBN 978-93-5492-859-8.
  12. "Right on track". 27 June 2012 – via The Hindu. I was on a reconnaissance trip for a film called Chamkila, which I was working on. I had to go to Punjab to look for a new voice that would suit Chamkila. He was a legend, the 'Elvis of Punjab', so someone to suit that voice and stature of performance. There were many auditions for singers
  13. "Panjabi MC – Bio". Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2012. PMC took inspirations from people such as James Brown, KRS1, Dr Dre, Spike Lee and Bob Marley, which were his influences from the western world and from his own cultural background he was influenced by Kuldip Manak, Surinder Shinda and Chamkila who are some of Indians greatest legends.
  14. Ramnath, Nandini. "'Mehsampur' movie (sort of) resurrects slain Punjabi singer Amar Singh Chamkila". Scroll.in. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  15. "Diljit Dosanjh to start Chamkila shoot in November". ETimes. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
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