Folk singer Amar Arshi on Kala Chashma – a catchy Punjabi number he once recorded in an unassuming Phagwara studio

In the last couple of weeks, Kala chashma, the Punjabi earworm that’s found much head and heart space in the popul music universe for over three decades, rang in global reception and affection of mammoth proportions. Kala chashma – the original version of which was recorded 32 years ago in a tinny studio in Punjab’s Phagwara – has had the world on its feet in the last few days and they, the people, are really grooving and how.
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While the song had The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon and American singer Demi Lavato gyrating to its looped beats; it also had the Indian cricket team celebrating their win over Pakan in the Asia Cup kicking up their heels in the dressing room; even the Hong Kong team was tripping over the same. While actors Ayushmaan Khurrana, Ananya Pandey and Ritesh Deshmukh and Genelia D’souza bonded over the song online and danced away, a bunch of women from Nepal and many from India tried to catch the happy vibe.
But what unanimously had everyone’s love was a group of African kids absolutely killing it in the mud in front of a small hut while bouncing on point with the catchy beats. Killy and Neema Paul, the Tanzanian brother-ser duo and social media influencers also created their own dance version of the piece. All of them followed the high powered choreography and absolutely ecstatic dance reel of the song created Norwegian dance troupe, Quick Style, at a member’s wedding to an Indian bride. This is where things began to trend and get viral. And this is where the social media and its frenzy took over.

The version of the song that made it to these dance videos is a remix created rapper and composer Badshah. Faturing in Katrina Kaif-Siddharth Malhotra starrer Baar Baar Dekho (2016), this slick version is seasoned with occasional yelps, addictive beats and swag looped into Indeep Bakshi and Badshah’s’s rap and Aakriti Kakkar’s nasal voice. But the game belongs to the traditional tumbi, the opening riff that gets the prancing going.

But what’s little-known or rather little remembered, is that Kala chashma, the song that’s igniting almost all street parties, clubs and homes globally, has been sung a folk singer named Amar Arshi, who began his career with local jagrans and weddings in Punjab. He recorded the song at the beginning of his career after coming in contact with the lyric of the song Amrik Singh Shera, a Punjab police constable from Kapurthala “It feels great to see that the song is back in limelight.
It was already quite famous in Punjab, England and Canada. But Badshahji’s version in 2016 brought it a lot of international attention. I don’t know why but people all over the world are connecting over it again, dancing to it and making me feel very honoured,” says Arshi in a phone conversation from Jalandhar, where he currently lives. The “re-created” version had helped the singer way of increase in the amount of money he made during his shows, especially the few that take him to Australia and the UK — two countries with considerable Punjabi population.

Growing up in a poverty-stricken family in the village Nangal Majja, in which no one was interested in music, Arshi taught himself lening to folk songs sung legendary Punjabi singers such as Gurdas Mann, Surinder Shinda and Kuldeep Manak. This was until he found a guru in popular singer Amar Singh Chamkeela. Arshi was his protege for four years, until Chamkeela was gunned down along with his wife and entourage in 1988. The murder remains unsolved. “I would find myself at his office at 4 am and sing for him, learn from him. Whatever I know is because of Chamkeela,” says Arshi, whose parents didn’t appreciate the idea of a career in music and would often ask him to do something “constructive”.
“My mother would constantly get irritated when I would play the harmonium. Both my parents kept telling me to get a real job and not tinker around with music. But I wouldn’t budge,” says Arshi, for whom Kala chashma, three decades ago, was one of the 10 songs recorded to be taken to the UK. “I was excited that some music producers were actually recording me. I sang with all my heart,” says Arshi, who didn’t get any money for the song then. “I would get happy if I got paid in those days. I was okay if I didn’t,” says Arshi

Shera, who would occasionally write and knew Arshi, gave the song to him. Shera had penned the song when he was 15 and on a visit to Chandigarh. He saw a girl in the city, in jeans and dark glasses, and penned the song the next day.

The song — slightly auto-tuned but with Arshi’s vibrato in place, found instant success in Punjab. The video had a bunch of bhangra dancers, Arshi and a woman wearing dark glasses.
Years later, Karan Johar and Badshah came calling and some of their representatives told Arshi that about 10 seconds of the song are needed for an ad. “Mashoori bana rahe si koi (They were making some ad). I was called to Bombay, recorded the song and came back. Later some of their people came down to Jalandhar, had me sign a few papers and gave me a lakh. Since I don’t understand English, I still am not clear about what I signed. But at that point, I thought, ‘I have sung and I am getting paid,’ says Arshi, who’s never received any royalties or any share in the profit after the success of the song. Shera got Rs 10,000.
The success did get Arshi more proper concerts, beyond the weddings and jagrans in Punjab. His other songs include Aaaja ni aaja and Rangli kothi. Has Arshi watched the dance trends? “I don’t exactly know what’s on, but many people are dancing to my voice a lot, again,” he says in chaste Punjabi.
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