MUMBAI: “Amar Singh Chamkila” was an interesting opportunity to make a cinematic film in the OTT space, says filmmaker Imtiaz Ali on the upcoming biopic that took him to different corners of Punjab.The film, starring musician-actor Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra, revolves around the life and time of Amar Singh Chamkila, a popular Punjabi singer in the ’80s who was shot dead with his singer-wife Amarjot in 1988.”The movies that I really enjoy on OTT platforms are extremely cinematic and those are the movies I enjoy in theatres as well. I believe people want to watch cinematic movies, irrespective of the platform. For me, it’s an opportunity to make a very cinematic film on OTT because it’ll have a different kind of reach. Also, I wanted to prove to myself, not to anybody else, that a cinematic film works on both OTT and in theatres,” the filmmaker told PTI in an interview.Known for modern relationship dramas such as “Jab We Met”, “Love Aaj Kal”, “Rockstar” and “Tamasha”, Ali said when he got the script for Chamkila’s biopic, he was initially not sure whether he wanted to direct the movie.But the story kept getting interesting and the filmmaker realised he had something to say through Chamkila’s story.”It’s not a word or a sentence. It’s more like a feeling or a state of mind. I’ve tried to be as authentic as possible but within that, I feel that there is my voice in it,” he said.Punjab has served as a backdrop in many of his stories, most notably in “Jab We Met” and “When Harry Met Sejal”, but “Amar Singh Chamkila” helped him connect with people from the interiors of the state.”We travelled to small villages and met people who make most of this state and this country, which are rural people. They don’t claim to be intellectuals and are connected by music or cinema. To connect with those people and the rawness of the land, has been interesting, unlike my other experiences.”
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