Amar Singh Chamkila Lied To Amarjot About 1st Marriage, Reveals Friend: 'His Dead Brother's Wife...'

The late singer Amar Singh Chamkila, often hailed as the Elvis of Punjab, was famous for his lively Punjabi songs, both loved and criticised. He often shared the stage with his wife and singer, Amarjot Kaur. According to Chamkila’s friend and musician Kesar Singh Tiki, Chamkila didn’t disclose his previous marriage to Gurmail Kaur before marrying Amarjot.

In an earlier interview with RPD 24, Tiki revealed that after several successful years of performing together, Amarjot’s family considered pairing her with Kartar Ramla. However, Amarjot expressed little interest, saying, “If Chamkila wants to marry me, then I am ready for it.”

That same night, Tiki talked to Chamkila about it, and Chamkila agreed to marry Amarjot. When Tiki asked Chamkila if he had been married before, Chamkila didn’t tell the truth. Tiki said, “I asked Chamkila if he had been married before. He lied to me and said that my family wants me to marry my dead brother’s wife, but I am not married.”

After getting confirmation from both sides, Tiki swiftly arranged the wedding in Phagwara. He set up the tent overnight and spoke to the priest. Tiki sent Chamkila to Phagwara the night before and left with Amarjot the next day. His parents were already there to bless the newlyweds. A week later, the couple returned to Ludhiana. “I got the tent ready overnight. I spoke to gyani saab (priest) at the gurudwara. I asked him to finish the Anand Karaj in ten minutes instead of two hours,” he said.

In Imtiaz Ali’s film Amar Singh Chamkila, starring Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra, Parineeti’s character, Amarjot, is shown as unaware of her husband’s first marriage. However, in an old interview, Chamkila’s songwriter Swaran Sivia said that Chamkila was honest about his first marriage and told Amarjot before they got married. Amarjot’s sister Jaswant Kaur claimed that the family only found out about Chamkila’s first wife after Amarjot and Chamkila’s son was born.