Amar Singh Chamkila died on March 8, 1988. He and his singer wife, Amarjot Kaur were assassinated outside an event they were supposed to perform at. The mystery around their death remains unresolved. Although not much is known about their killers, director Kabir Singh Chowdhry claims he has met one of the murders and got insights into the possible motives behind Amar’s murder. Kabir had helmed the mockumentary Mehsampur, which revolved around Amar Singh Chamkila’s life.
In a new interview, the filmmaker revealed that during his on-ground research, he eventually crossed paths with one of the men who allegedly was a part of Amar Singh Chamkila’s assassination. Kabir Singh Chowdhry said that his meeting with the killer, who is still alive, understand the possible motive behind the killing but the filmmaker added he would not put ‘too much weight on it.’
“Spending time on the ground in Punjab pursuing Chamkila’s story, I inevitably crossed paths with one of Chamkila’s killers who is still alive (it is all hearsay). While I did get some insight into the motivations behind the act, I wouldn’t put too much weight on it,” Kabir told Hindustan Times.
“The atmosphere in Punjab during those days was chaotic and lawless, where hiring guns for nefarious purposes was not uncommon. It was a time when personal vendettas were settled with violence, and individuals resorted to hiring others to carry out their dirty work. In such a volatile environment, retribution and reasoning often took a backseat to the ruthless pursuit of power and control. So whether it was professional jealousy, discriminatory hatred towards his caste, conjuring up of a puritanical narrative against his style of music and other unknown reasons, is yet to be fearlessly uncovered,” he added.
The life and death of Amar Singh Chamkila has returned to the spotlight courtesy Imtiaz Ali. The filmmaker released a biopic on Netflix last week with Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra in the lead. The film has received much appreciation.
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