Diljit, Chamkila Draw Blanks at Emmy Awards
They were trumped by Oriol Pla and Lost Boys and Faries, respectively
Diljit Dosanjh’s Chamkila returned empty-handed from the 53rd International Emmy Awards in New York.
The Imtiaz Ali directorial was nominated in the TV/Mini Series category, while Dosanjh was in the race for Best Performance. However, both the film and its lead actor were passed over in their respective categories.
Chamkila, based on the life and legacy of iconic Punjabi singer Amar Singh Chamkila, lost to Lost Boys and Fairies, a British drama about a gay couple hoping to adopt a child, a series that has been widely praised for its emotional storytelling. Dosanjh, meanwhile, lost the Best Performance award to Oriol Pla for the Spanish production Yo, adicto (I, Addict), in which Pla plays a young man battling drug addiction as he attempts to rebuild his life.
Imtiaz Ali attended the panel and medal ceremony of the 53rd International Emmy World Television Festival, where he described Chamkila as an ode to the relationship between an artist and their craft. “For me, this was a love story between an artist and his art,” he said. “A singer and their performance are akin to lovers; at a certain point, it transcends money, fame and glamour. It’s about the performance itself, beyond any rationale, to connect with the audience. That was the most compelling drive in A mar Singh Chamkila’s character, and that is what I concentrated on.”
