Amar Singh Chamkila’s songwriter friend Swaran Sivia recalls the time they met and says the singer was 'shaken and scared’ after receiving the threat letters

Diljit Dosanjh in and as Amar Singh Chamkila (Photo courtesy Netflix)

'Chamkila', starring Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra, was released on Netflix yesterday, and the movie has won everyone's heart from the word go.

Diljit Dosanjh, as the slain Punjabi singer Amar Singh Chamkila, is being appreciated for his performance. The film, directed by Imtiaz Ali, effectively captures the intricacies of portraying the character of Amar Singh Chamkila on screen.

Now, an old interview with Chamkila's close friend, a former Income Tax officer and song writer, Swaran Siva, has started surfacing again.

In the old interview, which was originally published four years ago by the Punjabi YouTube channel RDP, Swaran Sivia narrated the entire incident about how he met Amar Singh Chamkila, the three threat letters from 'Kharkus' (Sikh militants from Punjab insurgency), and the apology by Chamkila.

In the interaction, Swaran spoke about the day he met Chamkila. He said that Chamkila was not aware of the fact that he was from the Income Tax Department. Chamkila met him by chance, and then he took him to his village to show the threat letters, as the singer was very shaken and scared.

In the interview, which is in Punjabi, Swaran says: “Chamkila (Amar Singh Chamkila) told me that ‘I have received three threatening letters. I feel that these have been sent to me by my rival singers and that they are fake threat letters. And I want to confirm with you if these are real or fake.’ I asked him to show me the letters. But he got scared, and he thought I was also a Kharku (sikh militant of the Punjab insurgency).

I told him that he could get the letters the next day if he didn’t trust me. Then Chamkila said he wanted him to check the letters today itself, so he decided to drop me off at my village in his own Ambassador car. He took me in his car to Jamalpur, where he was staying. He showed me the three threat letters that he had kept in the safe of his almirah. One of the threat letters had a Bhindrawale Tigers Force stamp. I told him one was real and the other two were from the Khalistan Liberation Force and Khalistan Commando Force; this he will need to check. He asked me to show it to the Kharkus and handed over the letters to me. Once, Kharku members came to our village, and they wanted to drink milk from a Sikh house. I knew them from there and came to know that the threat letters sent to Chamkila were original.”

In the movie, Diljit who portrays Chamkila, is also seen deeply frightened. To ensure his safety, he even offers money to Swaran's character and vows to refrain from singing vulgar songs. This pivotal moment marked the beginning of their friendship.

Sawaran further said that once Chamkila knew that the threat letters were not fake, he was ‘visibly scared’. In fact, while driving Swaran to his village, he was told that they were near Rashpal Singh Chandra’s village; he couldn’t ‘hold the steering and was shaking’. After dropping him, Chamkila, in fact, asked him for a detour in order to avoid Chandra’s village.

Swaran said the next day he also confirmed that all three threat letters were real and from the Kharkus. This is when he decided to fix Chamkila’s meeting with them and seek an apology.

He said: “I encountered the Kharku group, who informed me that if Amar Singh Chamkila was my close friend, they could provide a reference letter allowing me to meet with the Kharku action committee members. In return, I would need to promise that Chamkila will sing positive songs. Taking Amar Singh Chamkila with me, I went to meet the Kharku group to apologize. I had advised him not to touch their feet, emphasising the importance of invoking Waheguru’s blessings. Baba Bassar Singh Jaffarwal stood there, and, surprisingly, he embraced Chamkila. Baba Bassar Singh acknowledged Chamkila’s powerful voice and encouraged him to use it for noble purposes. He reminded Chamkila of the responsibilities he carried. Despite initial fear, they sat down together. Baba Rood Singh playfully teased Chamkila, who promptly apologised to him.”

Swaran also said that they were directed to visit Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar, where Chamkila did an ardaas of Rs 5100, which was a very huge amount in the 1980s.

“Chamkila then visited Harmandir Sahib and performed an ardaas (prayer) 5100 times. Following that, he made a generous donation of Rs 25,000 for langar (the community kitchen). The Kharkus, however, declined to accept the money and instead asked him to donate it to the needy. This encounter left Chamkila content, knowing he had made amends and contributed positively to the community,” he further narrated.

The entire incident has been narrated in the same manner in the film ‘Chamkila’. It is shown that Amar Singh Chamkila agrees to sing religious songs, and his albums ‘Naam Japle’ and ‘Baba Tera Nankana’ were superhits.

The movie has opened to positive reviews, and Diljit Dosanjh impresses with his acting skills. He fits the role of the ill-fated singer perfectly, and his voice as Amar Singh Chamkila in the movie is like icing on the cake.