Awestruck by the Pink City

From Virus, a college band where he was the lead singer and his now-popular singer sibling played the guitar, to almost giving up on music, Amaal Mallik has come a long way. Amaal, who is in Jaipur with brother Armaan for a private gig, spoke to AFTERhrs about his life’s journey and their Jaipur connect.

‘Always wanted to be here’

The music composer, lyricist and singer, who is quite excited about visiting the desert state for the very first time, says he wants to return soon. “I’ve always wanted to visit Rajasthan, I am in awe of this place. The weather here is amazing. Since I am here for a private gig, I don’t have time to explore the city but I really want to come back for a trip with friends,” he said. “I have a connection with the desert state — my dadi’s elder brother Hasarat Jaipuri, a well-known lyricist, is from here,” he added. 

The crisis in his life

The Sau Asmaan composer, who is from a musical family (son of Daboo Malik and nephew of Anu Malik), believes his journey hasn’t been easy. “I wanted to start my journey in the industry at 30 years of ago. I got a break at 23 with Salman Khan’s Jai Ho. With the name Malik attached, people had high hopes and I received a lot of criticism,” he revealed. “Before Jai Ho, I was assisting music composers. I couldn’t have gone back to doing that. I decided to give up on music and work at a cafe in New Zealand. I had no work for nine months. My family was going through a major financial crisis and we didn’t have money even for food. We had sold our car and our house was on the verge of being sold,” he added. 

Destiny, though, had other plans. “I went to Bhushan Kumar’s office, who heard five of my songs. He picked all and also asked me to create a peppy number. I sang Sooraj Dooba Hai, which he said he’d use in Roy. I had no idea about the film and only saw it’s poster on my way back in the lift. That song actually changed my life,” he asserted. 

No sibling biases!

Since the composer has a superstar singer at home, we wondered if he has ever been biased with Armaan. “Never! I always let the song choose its singer and Armaan understands this and respect my decision. It has happened a few times though that I asked Armaan to sing a specific song for trial, and he sung it so well that I decided to pick him as the singer.”

Not your normal youngster

The Main Hoon Hero Tera composer believes he has missed out on the life that a person of his age would live. “I was so engrossed in work that it feels like I didn’t come out of the studio for two years. Then I decided to take a break and discover myself. Even at 27 years, I haven’t done the things that a person of my age would normally do. So, I have decided to visit different places in the country and perform for fans,” he explained.  

The legal route

The composer believes it’s good that women are coming out and speaking about people who have wronged them, including his own uncle. “I am with all the women who have spoken about harassment. But I think they should take legal recourse rather than just maligning someone on social media... just an anonymous post and then no action does good to no one,” he opined. 

An angry judge

Amaal made his debut as a reality show judge on Zee TV’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. “I really like it but at the same time, it’s a huge responsibility. I am honest with the kids and as a music composer, I train them on how things will be in the studio. I want to train them as a brother but some of them are scared of me because of my beard (laughs). I have even been labelled as the angry judge on the show,” he said. “It’s our family show; my brother Armaan was also a contestant there and I used to help him practice every morning before his performance,” he added.