Carrying the musical legacy a step ahead

Born in a legendary music family of the Maliks (granddad Sardar Malik, father Daboo Malik and uncle Anu Malik), Amaal has music flowing in his blood. But the young music composer has had his share of struggles. Excerpts from an interview…

Bagging an award is always special. How did it feel when your name got announced as a winning composer for Roy in 2016?
I was numb when my name was announced. I was hoping I’d win something for my song Sooraj dooba hai, but was never expecting a Filmfare recognition for that. It’s a huge honour. While the nominations were scrolled on the screen, I was holding my mom and maasi’s hands with bated breath and crossing my fingers, legs and ears!

I had already won a host of other notable awards for the same (e.g. Star Screen, Sony Guild, GIMA, Mirchi, Big Star). It meant a lot to my parents and they were in complete disbelief when they first heard my name being read out of the envelope. My dad still goes to the awards-shelf and holds the Filmfare trophy every now and then and says, ‘I can’t believe you did this son, I’m so proud of you!’ The credit absolutely goes to the ace producer and T-series man Bhushan Kumar for finding out the right song and giving me the right platform to showcase my talent to the world.

I was emotionally overwhelmed and got tongue-tied on stage when I went to receive the award, but I did not forget to express my gratitude towards my immediate family — my parents and my brother Armaan — and my friends who supported me through thick and thin. I called my lyricist Kumaar on the stage who had written both, songs Sooraj dooba hai and the peppy superhit, Chittiya Kalaiya. Well, without him and his wonderful words, my song wouldn’t have touched so many hearts! I also thanked Salmanbhai (Khan) for making me believe in myself. I was finally ready to be a composer and he gave me a really big launchpad like Jai Ho. The experience was surreal and I loved it. That night, my dad had slept with my award. I will never forget that blissful sight in my life for sure (smiles).

Tell us something about your formative grooming in music.
It goes without saying that I hail from an august lineage of Bollywood music and that filmi strains flow in our blood through a familial legacy. We have inherited this  God-gift craft by destiny. However, it was only my grandfather Sardar Malik who was properly trained in Indian classical music. Dad (Daboo Malik) and uncle Anu Malik were more self-taught and adaptive composers. As a child, I was geeky and enormously glued to machines and gadgets. I couldn’t afford a computer, so I happened to assemble my close childhood friend Krish’s old desktop with the best cheapest parts available to create something I could use Nuendo (audio-software product developed for music recording, arranging, editing and post-production as part of a digital audio workstation) on.

More technical knowledge came my way by assisting well-known music directors like Amar Mohile, the man behind the illustrious score of Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Sarkar. It was with him and his assistant Sargam that I further learnt to use the DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) Nuendo. I saw my first Apple computer because of Amar sir, and then my father saved bit by bit from his meagre earnings to invest a hefty sum into buying my music-gear and that’s how I went out into the world with my heartfelt brand of music.

Do you both siblings frequently indulge in a jamming session in your woodshed when not handling any work assignment?
Armaan took to the guitar and I always dabbled in the piano from an early age. Therefore whenever we jam together, it’s a party and it goes on all night. We usually do this when friends come over and it’s fun.

We never wanted to stick out as a duo because we both have carved out a different journey for ourselves and our way of dealing with things is also quite dissimilar. His musical style is different from mine. In fact, both dad and Salman Khan sir had told the two of us never to make a team. He advised us to be there for each other and be known as different individuals.

We are comfortable in our own space. But yes, once we were in a band when we were quite younger, and it was mad fun back then. However, my smouldering fire to become a music director and make my father proud had one day pushed me towards the Bollywood musical domain.

Armaan hates working on situations, whereas I face it as a challenge. He sometimes composes a single. I help him out with my inputs. It was very clear from the word go that we want to be known as two separate entities in public.

Any dream collaboration on the cards?
I avidly listen to eminent German composer and record producer Hans Zimmer. Even if it may sound as a far-fetched pipe dream, I’d love to see how he approaches a score. It’ll be an opportunity of a lifetime to collaborate with such a great artiste.

What about your upcoming concerts?
I do stage shows when I find some time off from my film engagements. It’s an outlet to connect with my fans all over the world. It helps me unwind, travel around the globe and interact with myself. Recently, I performed in Mumbai, Delhi, Va?odara, Bangladesh, Ko Samui and Australia. So, I am quite a ‘rolling stone’ in that context.

Are you working on any private album?
Well, an album drains off a lot from you personally. It should have YOU in its entire expanse. It is taxing and time-consuming. At the moment, my schedule is jam-packed with song deliveries, dubbings and movie productions. They are my main focus now. Although I do have a few songs reserved in the bank, I’m yet to work on them properly even before imagining to compile all into a full-fledged album.