Decades have passed since the tragic assassination of Punjab’s original rock star, Amar Singh Chamkila and his wife Amarjot Kaur. While they are not present among us anymore, their legacy lives on through the singer’s first wife Gurmail Kaur and their children from both marriages.
Gurmail has largely remained out of the public spotlight. However, last week marked a rare public appearance for her as she attended the Mumbai premiere of the Imtiaz Ali-directorial ‘Amar Singh Chamkila.’ The mother of two daughters joined Amar and Amarjot’s son Jaiman at the special event that night and even met and chatted with Diljit Dosanjh.
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In a video posted by the actor-singer on his official Instagram account, Gurmail was seen in a modest churidaar as she greeted the Punjabi superstar. Visibly moved and feeling emotional, the late singer’s first wife embraced Diljit, who played the titular character, on the red carpet. After posing for a few photographs, she proceeded to watch the film.
Watch the video below:
While Amarjot Kaur’s story has been widely depicted in the movie, little is known about Gurmail Kaur. In a recent interview, the latter revealed that she shared a close and friendly bond with Chamkila’s second wife. They used to visit each other often and would also cook together. There was absolutely no conflict between them; in fact, Chamkila treated them both equally, showing them same amount of affection.
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Even Jaiman had opened up about his bond with Gurmail Kaur in an interview last year in a conversation with Cine Punjabi. He said, “I am in touch with Chamkila’s first family. I have two sisters from his first wife, Amandeep and Kamaldeep. The older is married and has two kids, and Kamal is getting married this year (2023).”
“When I go meet her (Gurmail), she greets me well but that’s it. From the beginning, it’s been this way. It is not her fault nor our (the children) fault,” he added. When asked if they share their grief together even after years, Jaiman, who followed in his late father’s footsteps to become a singer, said, “Sometimes we speak and she would say that if your father was around, we wouldn’t be in such state. He worked really hard, people’s evil eyes impacted him, he had too many enemies. I have my sisters as well; we try to share our pain as much as we can.”
For those who don’t know, on March 8, 1988, while arriving to perform in Mehsampur, Punjab, both Chamkila and his wife Amarjot were fatally shot as they exited their vehicle. Their story is depicted in the recently released film ‘Amar Singh Chamkila’ available on Netflix.
