New Delhi: ‘Amar Singh Chamkila’ was named 'The Breakout Film of the Year' at the 15th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM). The Imtiaz Ali directorial, which is a biopic on the slain Punjabi singer who was also known as the ‘Elvis Presley of Punjab’ was released on Netflix on April 12, 2024.


The film’s director Imtiaz Ali hopes that the ‘Amar Singh Chamkila’ will continue its winning spree at other awards, including the National Awards which recently awarded ‘Gulmohar’ with top honours.


At the recent 15th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) awards gala, held on Friday, ‘Amar Singh Chamkila’ was announced as 'The Breakout Film of the Year'.


Amar Singh Chamkila


"There was confusion about whether films that are released direct-to-digital will be allowed to participate in National Awards but I think there's a verdict on that now which is in favour of direct-to-digital films. I'm hoping the National Awards will look kindly on 'Amar Singh Chamkila'," Ali told news agency PTI in an interview from Melbourne.


Ali described ‘Amar Singh Chamkila’, fronted by Diljit Dosanjh, a people's film.


"What I personally liked about the film is that it is made out of metros and mini-metros, and it goes into the heartland of India, where most of the country lives. I'm hopeful that the population of the country will appreciate that," Imtiaz Ali said when he was asked if the movie would go on to win a National Award next year.


About the validation his film received at IFFM, Imtiaz Ali said, "The validation that I seek is the warmth and popularity among the audience as a filmmaker. (But) It does make me feel happy to receive an award. I hope the popularity of the film is reflected in the awards as well. I'm sure everyone in the unit will be happy about the awards. Hopefully, the 'Breakout Film' award will start a trend." 


Besides ‘Amar Singh Chamkila’, another film with an Ali connection is currently making waves. The 2018 film ‘Laila Majnu’, which has gained cult status over the years after receiving a lukewarm response at the box office, re-released in theatres last week and has won more acclaim than before.


For the unversed, Imtiaz Ali presented and co-wrote 'Laila Majnu' with director-brother Sajid Ali.