Imtiaz: Wouldn’t have made Chamkila without Diljit

Director

Imtiaz Ali

, who is gearing up for the release of his upcoming film ‘Amar Singh Chamkila’, revealed the reason for choosing

Diljit Dosanjh

and

Parineeti Chopra

for

Amar Singh Chamkila

and Amarjot Kaur’s roles respectively. In a recent interview with IndiaToday.in, Imtiaz talked about the casting of the film
He said, “Hugely the reason for casting them was that they are singers.

I was very clear for some reason that I wanted the actors in this movie who would be singers. Chamkila had to be a singer and Diljit was perfect for it. If not for Diljit I wouldn’t have made this film at all, because he had very good knowledge about Chamkila, his life, and everything else. Parineeti’s casting was also based on her being a singer. Also, Parineeti looked a lot like Amarjot Kaur so she fit perfectly.”
Imtiaz Ali also expressed that he doubted Parineeti Chopra’s willingness to gain weight for their upcoming film. He said, “It’s very difficult for any man or woman in today’s day to put on weight, especially actors. Though actors do put on or lose weight for films, it’s not easy. Hats off to Parineeti. She did put on weight for this film. I had told her I didn’t want Amarjot to look like an actress and she told me, ‘I will do it.’ But I wasn’t sure that she would be able to do it, and to my surprise she did it. In the end, she put on a lot of weight for the film, I don’t know the exact kgs, but more than 10kgs for sure. Post the weight gain, her look completely changed.”
He further added, “Even Diljit had to lose weight during the shoot of the film. He had to look leaner in some portions. Both Diljit and Parineeti have done more than what I expected from the looks of Chamkila and Amarjot.’
‘Amar Singh Chamkila’, starring Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra, will release on April 12 on Netflix. The film is a

biographical drama

based on the life of musician Amar Singh Chamkila.