Parineeti Chopra on giving a ‘musical’ audition on Zoom call to AR Rahman for Amar Singh Chamkila: ‘Thought picture gayi haath se’

Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra, who will soon be seen in Imtiaz Ali’s directorial ‘Amar Singh Chamkila’ with Diljit Dosanjh, had earlier revealed that she has sung nearly 15 songs in the film and it was one of the major reasons why she came on board. During the film’s trailer launch event, Parineeti recalled how she sang a Punjabi song in front of Diljit, Imtiaz Ali and AR Rahman for the first time.

Parineeti talked about her unusual Zoom call audition for her upcoming musical drama. She said, “Two years ago, I was on my way to Karan Johar’s birthday party when I got a call from Imtiaz Ali sir, asking if I was free. I thought it would be a quick chat, but he said Diljit, Rahman sir, and him are on a zoom call and he wanted me to join as well. I was in a traffic jam and I asked my driver to quickly park the car and asked everyone to be quiet, koi saans bhi na lega that quiet.”

She further added, “The four of us were on zoom call and I thought it would be an introductory hello-hi zoom call. Rahman sir asked me if I know how to sing and I told him I like singing. I thought it was a safe answer and then he told me, ‘Achcha sing and show me.’ I thought gayi picture ab haath se!”

The actress said that she knows that AR Rahman collaborates with some of the “most genius artistes” in the world and believed that performing in front of him would give the impression that she was pleading with him to “cast” her in ‘Amar Singh Chamkila’. But Parineeti eventually collected herself and sang ‘Duma Dum Mast Kalandar,’ the only Punjabi song that came to her at that precise moment.

“It was like a musical (audition), even though by then it was confirmed that I was doing the film. I had told sir that I will sing all the songs in the film so, of course, in the movie we have sung Amarjot Kaur and Chamkila’s original songs as well as that of Rahman’s. That’s why he auditioned me,” Parineeti concluded.

AR Rahman, who was also present at the event, revealed he had a jamming session of four days with Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra. He said, “They all came in and then we got Diljit and Parineeti to record all those original tracks. We didn’t want to change anything; it was pure and they’ve done an amazing job.”

Imtiaz Ali disclosed that Parineeti was his “number one choice” and was glad that the actress agreed to the role. “Thankfully when I met her, she said she had been waiting for five years for a film where she could sing. She was on for the film instantly and then we realised she also looks like Amarjot Kaur. I told her she would have to do one thing: Eat samosa, malai, chaat because she had to gain some 10 kg weight. No girl or guy would’ve done it. It’s very tough for an actor to put on so much weight,” he said.

Directed by Imtiaz Ali, the film ‘Amar Singh Chamkila’ is based on the life of singer Amar Singh Chamkila, who is dubbed as the Elvis Presley of Punjab. The singer emerged from the shadows of poverty and rose to fame in the 80s by singing songs. Parineeti will be seen essaying the role of singer Amar Singh Chamkila’s wife-singer Amarjot Kaur. The film will premiere on April 12 on Netflix.

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