For 22-year-old Amal Malik, modesty is an ingrained virtue. His latest song “Tumko To Aana Hi Tha”, from Salman Khan’s blockbuster Jai Ho, clawed its way up the popularity charts — quite a coup. As the maker of melodies says simply, “Salman Khan has given me a million reasons to smile!” He has, as Amal has composed three vital tracks, including the title song, for the superstar’s blockbuster. Blame it on the genes. Amal’s grandfather was the renowned music composer Sardar Malik.
His father is the highly-sought-after musical genius Daboo Malik, and his uncle, the fabulous tune spinner Anu Malik. “I always had a liking towards music from an early age and was encouraged to pursue my passion,” he says. The diligence paid off and by 16, Amal was composing his own tunes. Followed by jingles for Vodafone, Boro Plus, Sunfeast, Amul, Toyota and scores of other brands. Starting small “Ad filmmaker Kailash Surendranath then took me under his wing. He has been my mentor,” Amal confesses.
Under his guidance and encouragement, Amal worked on 30 TV commercials, and he gradually got involved in music and developed his own signature style. At 19, he composed for the theatrical trailers of the Adlabs film production Tere Bin Laden. His renditions won instant acclaim and turned into a hummable craze soon enough. “Then I got an opportunity to compose racy music for the two most famous rides, Ali Baba, and Mr India, at filmmaker Manmohan Shetty’s massive entertainment park, Adlabs Imagica, near Mumbai. That has virtually been my ride to musical success,” admits Amal. He is equally candid about giving credit to his seniors. “Assisting my father and artistes like Salim-Sulaiman, Amar Mohile and Sandeep Chowta has seriously helped me in my formative years. It gave me valuable experience and made me learn the ropes of the music industry. But music is what I was born to live with.” Of course, hard work has taken him places on the digital platform and on the telly as well.
Shilpi Madan for Deccan Herald