Amar Singh Chamkila is all set to release on Netflix on April 12.
Imtiaz Ali recalls Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra’s jam sessions with AR Rahman. He also shares how they sang songs live on location during the shoot.
Parineeti Chopra recently revealed that one of the main reasons why she wanted to be a part of Imtiaz Ali’s Amar Singh Chamkila was that she would get to sing close to 15 songs in it. And now, at this year’s FICCI Frames, the filmmaker shared that Diljit Dosanjh, who plays the titular role, and Parineeti lent their vocals to multiple songs in the film, which were interestingly sung by them live during the shoot unlike the regular trend of playback singing behind microphones in a recording studio.
In an exclusive chat with Showsha, Imtiaz said, “It was mandatory for me to cast actors who are singers as well. It was important for them to sing live. This film wouldn’t have been possible without them. It’s not like Diljit didn’t train a lot like Parineeti did but he does live singing and is used to it. They both recorded the songs after singing them live. The reason behind this is that I’ve never had singers singing live during a shot. I thought that in case, the live singing doesn’t work out, we can always use the recorded version and use it as playback like we usually do.”
However, Imtiaz chose to retain the live versions as opposed to the recorded ones in Amar Singh Chamkila. “But the way Parineeti and Diljit sang live was a hundred times superior to what they recorded in a studio. Live singing has a magic of its own and we managed to capture it. What we recorded was a back-up. The songs sung by them in the film has happened live on location like dialogue-speaking. There were no add-ons whatsoever,” he continued.
The album of the film comprises of some melodies originally composed by the late Punjabi folk artist and a few others by AR Rahman, thus marking their fourth collaboration after Rockstar, Highway and Tamasha. Talking about how ‘fun’ it was watching the actors and the music maestro jam, Imtiaz shared, “They had lot of practice sessions that happened before the shoot. I knew that both Diljit and Parineeti are very good singers. Before every shot that required them to sing, they would practice for hours. There were many jam sessions that happened between them and Rahman sir. Parineeti and Diljit would go to his studio and sing with him.”
So, what has been an interesting takeaway for him from Diljit as this is the first time they’re coming together for a film? “When Diljit gets ready, he likes performing. He’s very instinctive. The moment the performer button in him would get switched on, I would immediately film him,” said the Love Aaj Kal and Jab We Met director.
Amar Singh Chamkila is all set to release on Netflix on April 12.
