Amar Singh Chamkila, a man at the center of controversies during his time now has a biopic there for the world to see on Netflix. His story is one of music, innocence, music, love, controversy, and an assassination heard all over the country spanning decades. Amar Singh Chamkila shows a journey that saw the musician who came from nothing reach the highest of highs and be unceremoniously assassinated. Imtiaz Ali has directed the Diljit Dosanjh, Pareeniti Chopra starter. Apart from the central characters, other characters were a part of Chamkila’s journey. One such character is Tikki played. The character adds to Chamkila’s life and journey. Let us find out who he was in real life and where he is now
Real story of Tikki from Amar Singh Chamkila.
The character of Tikki has been inspired by the life of Kesar Singh Tikki who was a dholak player and an instrumental factor in how Amar Singh Chamkila became the star that he ended up becoming. Kesar Singh Tikki was an accomplished dholak player who had worked with multiple musicians including Surinder Shinda. Shinda at that time was a rising name in Punjab music and Tikki would perform in music programs with Surinder Shinda.
In one such program, a young boy approached Tikki with a wish to become an apprentice with Shinda. Kesar helped him connect with Surinder Shinda and gave that boy exposure at Shinda’s music program. That boy was none other than Amar Singh Chamkila. While Chamkila started off doing odd jobs at Shinda’s programs, he always had the talent as a musician. When he got the opportunity to sing at music programs, he gradually started to develop a fan following of his own. In his early days, Chamkila used to stay with Tikki who himself earned a meager income of Rs 30 from his work.
After Chamkila branched out on his own and started making his own music, Kesar Singh was a frequent collaborator who stayed with him till the end. Chamkila, as shown in the film, became the highest-selling record artist in the history of Punjab and went on to earn the moniker of Elvis of Punjab. Chamkila and Tikki went on to perform countless shows together and became immortal in the history of Punjabi music.
Tikki from Chamkila: Where is He Now?
Kesar Singh Tikki is 75 years old now and spends his days in relative oblivion. He was seen in the documentary film Mehsampur which was a documentary about Chamkila and his assassination. In 2023, a concert was held where singers paid tribute to the legendary singer. Kesar Singh was present for the occasion and also gave an interview where he recounted the life of Chamkila.
Also Read: Kikkar from Chamkila real story