New Delhi, Apr 3 (IANS): Diljit Dosanjh got a lot of help from director Imtiaz Ali to step into the shoes of musician Amar Singh Chamkila, who was called 'Elvis Presley Of Punjab', for the upcoming film 'Chamkila'. The actor-singer said that the filmmaker would send him emails about how the late singer must be thinking in situations.

The film is based on the the slain singer, whose themes majorly consisted of women objectification, sexual violence, domestic violence and alcoholism. He met a tragic end in 1988, after the singer and his wife were assassinated.

To step into the world of Chamkila, Diljit just followed Ali’s lead.

“I followed Imtiaz Ali. When he is making a biopic, he is very sure of what is being made. I followed his guidelines. I did whatever he wanted me to do,” Diljit told IANS.

The 40-year-old star then went on to share that Ali would send him emails about how his character would think in a particular situation.

“I feel he thinks about this every day, whatever would cross his mind, he would send me an email on it because I have a very raw way. So, maybe he took this way for me or he must be thinking about the character.”

It was not for the story or the dialogues, he stressed.

“What he was sending across was different from the story and the dialogues. It was a characterisation about what Chamkila is thinking or would be running in his mind.”

He has kept the mails safe and even shared that he has exclusive pictures of the late singer.

“I still have those mails with me and I have some pictures of Chamkila sent by him that are not out anywhere. It helped me a lot,” he added.

Amar Singh Chamkila is an upcoming Hindi biographical drama film based on the life of musician Amar Singh Chamkila. It is directed and co-produced by Imtiaz Ali. The film stars Diljit Dosanjh in the titular role, with Parineeti Chopra as his wife.

The film is set to release later this month on Netflix.