Amar Singh Chamkila

Film ka ek decision, jisko lekar main personally kaafi sceptical thi, par eventually ab on board hoon, woh hai the constant switching between the dramatic recreation, and real life footage of Chamkila and Amarjot performances. It is a swing, the stylistic choice can instantly take you out of the film, and remind you ki you’re in fact watching a film, the immersion lost. Par because the story being told is volatile, in motion, erratic, the flirtations with form and genre are almost reverential to the central figure. Footage aur photos hi nahi, kabhi bhi kahin bhi animated sequences shuru ho jaati hain, kabhi a purana dost voice over mein kahaani kehne lagta hai, toh kabhi words “conspiracy, plotting, shadyantra, saazish, plan” appear on screen in a moment when characters are doing conspiracy, plotting, shadyantra, saazish, plan against Chamkila. Punjabi mein gaaye ja rahe gaano ki hindi transcription appears each time we are in an akhaada scene, aur phir ek jolt ki tarah brain mein message jaata hai ki yeh fiction bhi hai documentary bhi Imtiaz bhi hai Chamkila bhi. Enigma jitna surround karta hai iss singer ko, jiska murder kabhi solve hua hi nahi, film ka chaotic structure uss enigma mein add hi kar raha hai kuch layers aur. Ki isko predict ya unravel karne ki koshish na hi karo. Thoda Lynchian-lite surrealism mein jaa raha hai, jaane do.