Amar Singh Chamkila was ‘shaking in fear’ as he went to meet men who threatened to kill him, his songwriter reveals

Amar Singh Chamkila was shaking in fear when he received threatening letters. He then went to Amritsar with Swaran Sivia to apologise. He was shot two years after

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | Updated: April 12, 2024 09:01 AM IST

4 min read

Amar Singh Chamkila and his wife and co-singer Amarjot were shot in 1998.

Imtiaz Ali’s film Amar Singh Chamkila details many chapters of the late singer’s life. In the film, when Diljit Dosanjh’s Chamkila starts getting threatening letters commanding him to stop performing his ‘vulgar’ songs in akhadas, he gets visibly worried about his and his family’s safety. Much like the film, in real life too, Chamkila ran into a government officer working in the Income Tax department, who later became the songwriter for his devotional music album. The songwriter named Swaran Sivia helped Chamkila in meeting with the seniors of the ‘Kharku Singhs’ who were orchestrating the threats.

In a chat with the YouTube channel RPD 24, Swaran Sivia shared in Punjabi that when Chamkila showed him the threatening letters back in 1986, he was quite skeptical about their authenticity. “He wanted me to see if those letters were true or if someone was trying to fool him,” he recalled and added. “He showed me all the threatening letters. One was from Bhindranwale Tiger Force which was signed by Rashpal Singh Chandra. The other letters were from Khalistan Commando Force and Khalistan Liberation Force.”

Swaran said that after consulting with a few ‘Kharku Singhs’ who happened to be in his village, he learnt that the letters were genuine and Chamkila was visibly shaken. In fact, when Chamkila was dropping him back home in his Ambassador car, they happened to cross the village of Rashpal Singh Chandra. When Chamkila learned that they were so close to Chandra’s village, “he was shaking, he lost his grip on the steering wheel for a second.”

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Meanwhile, Swaran found a connection so Chamkila could visit Amritsar and meet the seniors of the ‘Kharku Singhs’ at the Golden Temple. “They (the men arranging the letter) said that proceed with caution. Tell them that you will sing good and decent songs and they won’t threaten you anymore,” he recalled.

Upon reaching the Golden Temple, Swaran said that he first went in alone and sought their permission for Chamkila to come in. “I told them that Chamkila is a soft hearted man that if you look at him sternly, he might have a heart attack,” he recalled and was assured that Chamkila would be safe. When Swaran asked Chamkila to join in, he started “crying.” “He said I am scared. He was a little skeptical of me as well that I might get him killed in Amritsar. I said they might have weapons but they are not going to shoot you inside. They have made a promise in front of Guru Granth Sahib, they won’t do something like this. He then gained some confidence.”

Swaran recalled the instructions he gave Chamkila before entering the room. “I told him that you don’t touch their feet. I said you only pray to god inside. When we entered inside, Baba Wassan Singh Zaffarwal was standing so he immediately hugged Chamkila. He told him that you have a roaring voice, you do the right thing, sing some good songs. They did not scold him at all. Chamkila folded his hands and apologised. He said I have made a huge mistake, please forgive me. They said you apologise to God and then speak to us. While praying, he offered Rs 5,100 there,” he recalled.

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Swaran said that as they were leaving the place, Chamkila tried to give a donation of Rs 25,000 but they refused. They suggested that he might as well donate it to needy children.

In the film too, Diljit’s character apologises as he leaves from Amritsar and promises the seniors that he would stop singing vulgar songs. He even does a couple of devotional albums too but soon after, he resums singing his old songs.

On March 8, 1988, Chamkila and wife Amarjot were shot dead near Mahismampur village in Jalandhar district when they were on their way to perform at a function. Although militants were blamed for their murder, the identity of the assailants and the motive behind the killings remains a mystery.

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