Chamkila: Imtiaz Ali Asked Parineeti Chopra To Gain 10 Kgs, Says 'No Girl Would Have...'

Imtiaz Ali’s highly anticipated Chamkila is all set to release on April 12. The film which stars Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra in the lead roles, is a biographical drama film based on the life of musician Amar Singh Chamkila. Today, at the film’s trailer launch event, the filmmaker revealed that he asked Parineeti to gain 10 kgs.

While interacting with the media, Imtiaz shared, “Parineeti said that she’s been waiting for 5 years to do a film, where she can sing. I said, ‘this is such a film’, she said, ‘I’m on [board]. I said ‘wow’. And then we started realising ‘Yaar iski shakal nahi milti Amarjot se, phir maine bola – bahut aasaan kaam hai, samose, malai, chaat yeh sab khaana shuru karo, since you have to gain some 10 kilo weight. No girl would have done it, no guy would have done it, for an actor to put on that much weight.”

The trailer revealed that the film was shot in real locations. It introduces us to Amar Singh Chamkila – Punjab’s original rockstar, who was often referred to as the ‘Elvis Presley of Punjab’. It also promises to take audiences to the vibrant and rhythmic world of Punjab’s folk music, right to the rustic Akhadaas (live music performances in villages) where Chamkila’s voice would once roar. The trailer also makes it clear that in the film, Parineeti Chopra will be seen playing the role of Amarjot, Chamkila’s wife and singing partner. Watch it here:

Soon after the trailer was released, several social media users reacted to it and expressed excitement for the film. While some argued that the film will surely be a “blockbuster”, others mentioned that they cannot wait to watch the film for Diljit.

Previously, in an exclusive conversation with News18 Showsha, Imtiaz talked about getting Diljit and Parineeti on board when he explained why it was important for him to cast actors who are also singers.

“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,” he said.