Anjum Batra on 'Chamkila' team "Imtiaz Ji ke sath kaam karke aap bigad jaate hai; Diljit is a superstar"

Imtiaz Ali's film Amar Singh Chamkila, currently streaming on Netflix, has been highly appreciated by audiences and critics alike. It features Diljit Dosanjh, Parineeti Chopra and Anjum Batra in pivotal roles. 

Recently, India Forums engaged in a candid chat with Anjum Batra, who played Kesar Singh Tikki, Chamkila's friend. Anjum Batra reflected on his experience working with Diljit Dosanjh and the portrayal of Kesar Singh Tikki in the film. He said, "Diljit Dosanjh is a superstar; he knows it but does not own it. He knows how to make a person comfortable, and the bigger person makes the one sitting next to you feel more significant."

 Adding to this he gushed, "When we first met in Imtiaz sir's office, he greeted me very well, in his signature style, folding hands, and I knew Parineeti already as we had worked in Namesty, England. But after we started shooting and I did 3-4 scenes on the sets, Diljit came and said, " Brother, you are such a good actor; why don't you do Punjabi films? And I said,  no one gives me Punjabi films. And he was like, don't joke; you want to do Hindi films, so you have been hanging on here, but you know you are a great actor."

Talking about the infamous nature of Chamkila's song and how it will change now Anjum said, "Now that the film is made, 'Imtiaz ji, A.R Rahman, bade bade log hai, ab lagta hai ki ab sunenge chamkila ke gaane, ab chamkila sun na ek reputation ka sawaa ban jayga."

Sharing his views on collaborating with Imtiaz Ali he said, "unke sath kaam karne ke baad aap thode bigad bhi jaate, kyuki aapko perfection ki aadat lag jaati hai aur fir dusre directors ke sath kaam karne mein dikkat aati hai". 

Further adding, "But Tikki, apart from playing the dholak, nothing from that era was available on the internet, so because of that, I had the liberty to show Anjum Batra as Kesar Singh Tikki, and that would make people think that, yes, Tikki was like this. Kesar Singh Tikki recently died a few months ago, so we could see how he was in his old age, but wo jawani mein kaise the, wo toh kisi ko pata hi nahi."

Talking about the film's relevance, said, "I see Chamkila as a motivational story more than anything else. When people talk about the rags to to-riches, this is how you become successful while staying grounded, which makes Chamkila what it is."

'Amar Singh Chamkila' is a biopic on the infamous Punjabi singer also known as the 'Elvis Presley of Punjab' in the 1960's and the rage he had created with his 'gande' songs, making him a superstar in his early twenties.