My father is my mentor: Anmoll Malik

Many feel that coming from a music or film background makes it easier for artistes to thrive in Bollywood. However, for 25-year-old Anmoll Malik — daughter of singer and music composer Anu Malik — this adds an extra baggage of expectations.

“My father has been in the industry for around 30 years and people have always expected me to do as well as him. As an artiste, it has been my responsibility to rise above those expectations and create my own identity and my own sound,” shares Anmoll, whose tryst with playback singing began with Mujhe Maaf Karna (Biwi No. 1).

The singer who has to her credit chartbusters like Talli (Ugly aur Pagli), Pyari ki Maa ki (Housefull 3) and Old School Girl (Tanu Weds Manu), has recently came out with her new English single, Let Me Come Home, which she wrote and composed too. “Let Me Come Home has been living inside me for a long time and it is my way of expressing myself. It was a bit nerve-racking as it was the first time I was baring my soul in front of the world. I never knew how it was going to be perceived. And the response has made me very happy,” says  the singer.  The song entered the VH1 India top 10 music chart at number nine recently.

Ask her if she plans to venture into western music and she says, “I want to continue with my Bollywood career and balance it with my independent singles. I want to create an identity that marries both these worlds.”

While many people in B-town are venturing into Western music scene, including actress Priyanka Chopra, how does she plan to face the competition?

“Everybody is creating their own niche and this is what I plan to do as well. I want to be known for my own style,” she says.

The singer says she has been writing songs since the age of 13 and her mentor and guide throughout her journey has been her father.  “My father is definitely my mentor. Every time I needed moulding, I looked up to him. Even today, he has the final word on everything I do. For Let Me Come Home, it was only after he said, ‘I can sense you as a singer through this song’, that I moved ahead with it,” says Anmoll, who will now be heard in Srijit Mukerji’s Begum Jaan, starring Vidya Balan.