She has been singing since she was seven; she would accompany her father — Anu Malik — to the studios. It was here that her love for singing developed. Even though, she is Anu Malik’s daughter and people may put a lot of presume on her and compare her with her father, the 23-year-old singer has tried to make space for herself.
“It is good that instead of comparing me to my father, who has had 30-35 years of music behind him, I am being asked how I am trying to make my own space in the industry. I can’t be compared to my father. If I am able to achieve half of what he has, I will be happy. I have so much to learn and hope that I have embarked on that journey,” Anmoll Malik tells you who is out with her debut single — lamhein.
The single, she says, relates the tale of a girl’s rise to fame and how it affects those around her. “Sometimes you don’t realise how precious a moment is until it becomes a distant memory. lamhein is about desperately seeking those moments that may never come back,” she says.
Interestingly, what began as a scintillating recreation of British band Coldplay’s global hit Paradise, turned out be an entirely different song while retaining the song’s core melody and installing it with a symphonic blend of Indian instruments and Hindi lyrics.
“I approached my father with this song and told him what I wanted to do. He told me that instead of just recreating it, why not make something different. So we retained the essence of the original song but incorporated Hindi lyrics. Of course, with him as the music director and Manoj Mantoshri writing the lyrics, the end result was brilliant. I then sent it to EMI Records India which is an initiative between leading music label Universal Music India and film director Mohit Suri. I was rather apprehensive when I had sent them this work. It was a long wait. But they did get back and they just loved what had been done,” Anmoll says who has been trained by Anu Malik.
“There could not have been a better teacher than him. Though he never reprimanded me, once I was in the studio, I was like any other singer and he would point out my mistakes. His criticism would always be constructive. He is the greatest teacher one can have,” Anmoll says who did her graduation in business, film and computer science. It was her parents who insisted that she complete her education even though, singing was something that was always close to her heart.
“Giving up music was never on the cards. There were times when I would feel low, but my parents were always there to guide me and support me. They were the ones who said that I had to finish my studies. Computer science was a subject that interested me, it still does,” Anmoll tells you adding that the newage music of fusion, remixes and raps are good as it gives a lot of scope to the artist to explore and experiment.
“As long as the end product is good and that is what each artist wants to create, it doesn’t matter what medium he chooses. It is good to try new things that are how music keeps itself alive,” she says.
Even though she is Anu Malik’s daughter, she tells you that she has never felt that she had to have the final say. “My father taught me all how a singer should act in the studio. There, I am a professional and do what I am being asked. I do give my suggestions, but it is the music director who has the final says,” Anmoll says.