Amar Singh Chamkila (1960-1988) was a famous Indian singer and composer in the Punjabi Music Industry. He was famous for his live stage performances. He gained fame not just in Punjab but abroad as well. India’s famous Music Director, Amit Trivedi called Chamkila ” a legend, the Elvis of Punjab”. He got popular for his lyrics in songs about extra-marital affairs, femininity, drug use, and drinking. He was a controversial artist due to the manner of his compositions though he also composed well-known devotional songs like “Baba Tera Nankana” and “Talwar Main Kalgidhar Di”. His death remained an unresolved mystery since he was assassinated in Mehsampur, district of Jalandhar, Punjab in 1988.
Wiki/Biography
Dhani Ram was born on Thursday, July 21, 1960 (age 27 years, at the time of death) in the village Dugri, district Ludhiana, Punjab. He did his schooling at Gujar Khan Primary School in Dugri. He started as a worker in the Hojari factory in Ludhiana after 8th standard to financially support his family. He used to write songs on his own and eventually, he became a legendary singer.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 10″
Weight (approx.): 65 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
Amar Singh Chamkila’s father’s name was Hari Singh Sandila and his mother was Kartar Kaur. Being the youngest in the family, he had 2 brothers and 3 sisters namely Swaran Kaur and Charandeep Kaur.
Wife & Children
Amar Singh Chamkila was married twice and his first wife was Gurmail Kaur. Two daughters were born to them named Amandeep Kaur and Kamaldeep also known as Kamal Chamkila. Kamal Chamkila followed the path of her father and become a singer. She had her first song Lalkara with Punjabi Singer Raj Brar.
After getting divorced from his ex-wife, Chamkila got remarried to Amarjot Kaur with whom he had a son named Jaiman Chamkila. His son is also a singer by profession.
Kamal Chamkila- Daughter of Amar Singh Chamkila
Amar Singh Chamkila with his second wife Amarjot and his son
Caste
He belonged to the Chamar community in the village of Dugri near Ludhiana, Punjab, India. Chamar belongs to the Dalit community, which has been classified as a Scheduled Caste in northern parts of India and Pakistan.
Career
Singing
First Album
Amar Singh Chamkila recorded his first-ever album with HMV in 1979, along with the folk singer Surinder Sonia which turned out a hit overnight. Punjabi Folk Singer Surinder Shinda played a major role in the establishment of Chamkila’s career. At the age of 18 years, he approached Surinder Shinda for a job and started working on the stages Shinda used to perform. Surinder Shinda got so impressed by his work that he named him “Amar Singh Chamkila“. That was how Dhani Ram got his famous name Chamkila.
Once Amar Singh Chamkila recited a song written by him to Surinder Shinda and asked him to perform his song which became a super hit. After that song, Chamkila started singing an opening song to Surinder Shinda’s stage performances.
He got a chance to record with the vocalist of Shinda, Surinder Sonia when Shinda himself was in Canada for a stage show and he recommended Amar Singh Chamkila to HMV to record on his behalf.
Stage Performances
Before sharing the stage with his wife Amarjot Kaur, Chamkila performed with other female vocalists Miss Usha Kiran, Amar Noorie, etc. Kuldeep Manak suggested Amarjot be a partner with Amar Singh Chamkila as he was looking for a permanent female singer. The couple started singing together and became famous not just with the people of Punjab but they had mesmerized people with their catchy and witty lyrics internationally. They gave many superhit songs like “Ki Jor Gariban Da”, “Kan Kar Gal Sun Makhna”, “Gora Gora Rang” and many more. Amar Singh Chamkila and Amarjot Kaur gained popularity and recorded many LPs with HMV. They also had international stage shows in Canada, Dubai, and Bahrain. Within no time they both reached the peak of their singing career.
Amar Singh Chamkila And Amarjot Kaur While Performing a Stage Show
Death
On 8 March 1988, Chamkila and Amarjot Kaur were shot dead by unknown assailants while the duo was exiting their vehicle to take part in an event at Mehsampur. Later, the police started an investigation but were unable to catch the perpetrators as a result of which the case did not come to any conclusion. The murder of Chamkila and Amarjot remains a mystery.
There are many theories related to the killing of Chamkila and Amarjot. Some sources suggest they were murdered by the militants because of the use of double meaning and explicit lyrics in their songs. While some say the assassination of the couple is a result of resentment of other rising singers in the music industry and they call it a contract killing.
Other sources consider the murder of Amar Singh Chamkila and Amarjot Kaur an Honour Killing. It says that Amarjot belonged to an upper caste while Chamkila was from a scheduled caste, so the parents of Amarjot had planned the murder. As the case never reached any judgment, the truth has never been known.
Facts/Trivia
- The release of the biopic made on Chamkila starter Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra by Bollywood director Imtiaz Ali has been put on hold by the local court of Ludhiana.
- Chamkila knew how to play Harmonium and Dholki but on stage, he used to sing with his Tumbi.
- Gulzar Singh Shaunki wrote in his Biography “Awaz Mardi Nahin” that when Chamkila was at his peak in his music career, he had performed 366 shows in 365 days.
- Ranjit Mani stated that in 1987-88, Chamkila used to perform 3 shows in a single day.
- As much as Chamkila received fame, he also had to face criticism for the type of words he used to sing in his songs.
- He even got threats to stop singing explicit songs. But he never got scared of anyone and continued his singing career.
- There was a rumour that he was getting more show bookings than many famous artists of that time.