Who was Amar Singh Chamkila?

Brut India

Amar Singh Chamkila, also known as the ‘Elvis of Punjab’ was the highest record seller of the state. Here’s what made Chamkila so popular yet so controversial at the same time.

Transcript

00:00As a musician, I feel that all the musicians in Punjab or outside of Punjab still follow Chamkeela.

00:08They still follow his compositions.

00:10His music earned him the moniker, Elvis of Punjab.

00:15Chamkeela, the Elvis of Punjab.

00:18This same music ended up taking his life.

00:22Gunman, either you shoot in the village or...

00:25Born as Dhaniram on 21st July 1960, Chamkeela's love for music started in his childhood village

00:34of Dubri, in Punjab's Ludhiana.

00:37Coming from a poor Dalit family, he started working at a cloth mill when he was just 18 years old.

00:44It was at this cloth mill that he rediscovered his childhood love for music.

00:48I make chirappis in the factory, while day and night I have music in my mind.

00:52He left his job at the cloth mill and began singing in the chorus for Surinder Shinda,

00:58a celebrated folk artist of the time.

01:01Although he earned a hundred rupees a month, it was not enough to run a family.

01:06It was time for Chamkeela to sing his own songs.

01:10His first album, Takwe Te Takwa Khadke, in 1971 was a raging success.

01:17And then, well, there was no looking back for him.

01:21Chamkeela, which literally means sparkling, became a household name in Punjab.

01:26His signature style of singing with a tumbi, a Punjabi classical musical instrument,

01:33became a crowd-puller.

01:52It is said that he once performed more than 365 shows in a year.

01:58But he was not alone.

02:00Every time he was on stage, his partner in both music and life,

02:05singer Amar Jodhpur, stood next to him.

02:08Together, they narrated everyday life in Punjab through their songs.

02:13Their songs were a commentary on village life, drug abuse, and alcoholism.

02:18But the duo was singing in the times of insurgency.

02:22And there were many who did not like what they had to say.

02:27On May 8, 1988, when Chamkeela and Amar Jodh were going to perform in Mehsaampur in Jalandhar,

02:35they were shot dead by three masked motorcyclists.

02:39Chamkeela's musical journey came to an end when he was just 27 years old.

02:45Till the time of his death, he remained the highest record-selling artist of Punjab.

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