Punjabi singer & actor Diljit Dosanjh is enjoying the success of Amar Singh Chamkila which was released on Netflix on April 12, 2024. Amar Singh Chamkila is a biographical drama based on the real-life story of Punjabi folk & 'Akhada' singer of the same name. While Diljit has portrayed the character of Chamkila, Parineeti Chopra has played the character of her wife Aarmjot Kaur. Directed & Created by filmmaker Imtiaz Ali, Amar Singh Chamkila is said to be Diljit Dosanjh's career-best movie. Not only this, Imtiaz Ali had revealed at The Great Indian Kapil Show that it was Shah Rukh Khan who suggested Diljit's name for the Chamkila movie and called him the best actor in today's time. However, there are scenes in the movie in which Diljit Dosanjh has come under the scanner of social media, especially among the Sikhs. One is Diljit Dosanjh shown in short hair and another one is Diljit Dosanjh smoking a Biddi (A cheaper version of Cigarette). Now, the question arises whether Diljit Dosanjh smoked Biddi for the Amar Singh Chamkila or not.
The answer is no. In an interview with an entertainment portal, Imtiaz Ali was taking fans questions for the film. One of the observations by a viewer was how Imtiaz cut to animation to show Diljit light a cigarette, a clever way to depict it as the singer-actor is a Sikh and can’t be seen smoking. Intiaz revealed, "I try that I don’t show anyone smoke in my films...In none of my films you would have seen anybody smoking! In this film it was important, because it was an integral part of what Chamkila had actually done in his life. It wasn’t imagined, this had indeed happened, and it was necessary to show that. All those people of Punjab who knew Chamkila also know that he had done this. For that, I didn’t want to show Diljit smoke, and he wouldn’t smoke anyway. So woh thoda tha problem. So we used the resort of this comic book style."
Notably, the film showcased, Diljit lighting Biddi after meeting with extremists in Canada. However, all of a sudden an animation was showcased hinting that Diljit did not smoke in reality.
It is pertinent to mention here that Imtiaz Ali also refused reports that Diljit Dosanjh cut his hair to portray Amar Singh Chamkila. Imtiaz revealed that Diljit wore a wig to play the character of short-haired Chamkila.
Talking about the real-life Amar Singh Chamkila, on March 8, 1988, Chamkila and Amarjot were shot dead. They were in village Mehsampur in Jalandhar district for a concert along with fellow musicians. Shots were fired at them when they were exiting their vehicle. All of them were rushed to a local hospital where Chamkila and his wife were declared dead.