Amar Singh Chamkila’s last day: Singer foreshadowed his own death, saw his wife being shot and asked, ‘Babbi, tenu ki hoya’

Amar Singh Chamkila (right) and his wife and co-singer Amarjot Kaur were shot dead by militants near Jalandhar in March 1988. (File)Lal Chand, the dholak player who was with Amar Singh Chamkila on the day he died, has often spoken about the impression that he had of the slain folk singer. Lal Chand himself took a bullet when Chamkila and his wife, Amarjot, were shot dead in the village of Mehsampur in Punjab, in the year 1988. Chamkila’s story was retold by director Imtiaz Ali in a new biopic, released on Netflix on Friday. As interest in the singer’s life grows, here’s looking back at Lal Chand’s stories about him, and his recollection of what transpired on the day that Chamkila and Amarjot were shot dead by unknown assailants.Speaking to Noble TV Canada in 2020, Lal Chand looked back at the threats that Chamkila had been receiving prior to his death. Having risen to the pinnacle of Punjab’s local music scene, Chamkila was extorted for money by several local goons, Lal Chand said. His...