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His father's son...

Anu Malik is a much misunderstood man as RANA A. SIDDIQUI discovers after a leisurely chat with the music composer whose father was never given his due, and who himself is often accused of plagiarism. Share his pain, his pleasure... .

"NOBODY wants me," thus said Sardar Malik, composer of the legendary song of pain, agony and nostalgia "Saranga Teri Yaad Main" from "Saranga" to his seven-year-old son Anu Malik 34 years ago. "... so why should I go to anybody for work?" he added to his son's impressionable mind, not knowing that he had decided to change the music industry's views about him and that he would go to bigwigs here to ask for some work and bring back the glorious past that he shared with his beloved father. It was then and there that he decided to become a music director.

Sporting a funky T-shirt, jeans and cap, a dress that does not go with his traditional mind, Anu is attempting hard to pull back his tears that stealthily fall off his eyes while mentioning a painful past his father and his family went through. He is at Le Meridien in New Delhi to judge young singing talents in "Surtarang-2003", a Sangam Kala Group's national talent hunt musical programme held at Talkatora Indoor Stadium this past week. This group has given us Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal, Peenaz Masani, Sunidhi Chauhan and others.

For this November-born 41-year-old, who on one side faces allegations of plagiarism and on the other scores some of the most hummable tunes in "Refugee", "Border", "Josh" and "Filhaal", music did not come easily, nor did fame or status.

"My father was a struggler despite giving some of the best scores to music industry," Anu recalls on a note of nostalgia. "When I was seven, I asked him why he does not go out of home and do some films? He said, `mujhe koi nahin chahta,' I asked why? He had no answer. I asked him to play his tunes for me. He played, `Saranga Teri Yaad Main'. I cried. He had a wife and three kids to feed, all on his talent but he was a man of self-respect, so would never go to anyone for favours. Once, when we ran out of all money to feed ourselves, my mother insisted, `You are so talented and your close friends know it. Why don't you go to them? What are friends for?' `I won't go alone, you come with me'," he said.

We reached a big, posh bungalow called `Parchaiyaan' of Sahir Ludhianvi, his close pal. I realised that while climbing the top floor to his room, his face turned pale. He extended his hand to ring the doorbell, but pulled back, repeatedly. His hands were shaking. It is so difficult to beg. His eyes were moist. Finally, he asked me `let's go back. Nobody likes me'."

Anu's eyes are moist too. His throat is choked. Then 10-year-old, pained Anu promised his father, "You will never go to anyone from now. I will bring you back everything that you have lost."

From next day, Anu started going to one and all in Bollywood for giving him a chance to score music. People would laugh at me saying, what wonder will you do at such a young age? Go and study. Come when you grow up."

It kept happening till 16, when finally he got "Aapas Ki Baat". "I did `Sohni Mahiwaal' when I was 18," Anu successfully replaces his tears with pride coupled with a smile.

The popularity of "Sohni Mahiwaal" had Anu flooded with offers. But Anu credits Amitabh Bacchan's "Mard" for changing his life. "I had Amitji appreciating me that he still does. He says, `Anu, you are the best'.

BUT THEN, his score in "Ganga Jamuna Saraswati" set him back. "I had no work after this film. Till `Baazigar' I sat at home." A time when his college mate, now wife, Anju who also maintains his email and other affairs, was his strength. He married her when 26. Now he has two daughters Anmol, 12 and Ada, 10. Anu is all geared up to teach them classical music.

Call him a copycat and he will give you ample examples of the master musicians of Bollywood who also were influenced by the music from the West and tried it in their tunes. "You know R.D. Burman's `Chura Liya' song is inspired by `If It is Tuesday, It Is Belgium'? You know that legends like C. Ramchandra picked up some foreign tunes when he made `Anaarkali'? Shankar Jaikishan was greatly influenced by Wahabi folklore and many of his compositions boast of that? Naushad Saab and Madan Mohan were impressed with our traditional music and they heavily used it in their music. It never took away their genius. So how come Anu Malik is blamed for it? Just because one of `Why did you break my heart' and a few others you label me a copycat forever? You forget my original compositions in other films," he shoots back.

Anu is still not satisfied. "You know what? Some journalists run out of ideas, so when they get one point, they harp on it for years. They are so unaware of my original scores. They never write when I grab Gurinder Chadda's "Bride and Prejudice" having seven songs? Only recently when Sahara organised a musical programme in Lucknow where all my compositions were played and Kareena danced on it a senior journalist hugged me saying, "I can't believe it is your music. I always underestimated you. I will never do that. Pooja Bhatt demands, `Give me something like `Refugee'.' Young directors come to me to score music for them. I ask them why do you come to me instead of great names? They say, `We want something like `Asoka' or `Aks'. When J.P. Dutta screened `Sandese Aate Hain' for `Border', he dragged me to the editing room and screamed, `Look, what wonders have you done? You are so great. Do you need to rely on copied stuff?'

Ask him what makes him score good music he says, challenge. "When a `buzurg' says that these days music is not hummable, it makes me work with double energy, to quench their thrust for one."

While scoring music what does he keep in mind? `The over all ambience of the film, the hero, heroine and how they look like." He tells you that Hrithik Roshan inspires him romantically, Shah Rukh, energywise, and for Anu, he is "ultimate" as Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan. Kareena is his "close friend".

Ask him about his new ventures, "LOC", "Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon" and "Main Hoon Na" and he is all praise for them. "LOC is my creative best so far, When Rani Mukharjee heard it, she rang me to say, `I want to marry this song'. `Main Prem's 11 songs are my romantic best and `Main Hoon' is my flirtatious best."

And if you know, he was emotionally overwhelmed with "LOC's" story so much so that after scoring its minutes main song, when he came home, he spat blood. "Doctors told me that it was because of emotional upheavals while singing it during rehearsals and advised me to not to strain myself so much." he recalls.

Mention remixes and he turns angry. "It is funny, a money-making racket. Music has become a joke, no copyrights, and no laws. Everywhere it is choodi, Punjabi and lashkara. Now people are fed up. They don't buy it."

Has he learnt classical music? "Not formally. But God guides me. I knew nothing about ragas but would compose. Experts would say, it is rag Yaman, Dhaiwat or Bhim Palasi but I would not know. But now I can recognise these ragas."

Tried playback singing as a career? "I am not mad to take away the talent of Sonu Nigam!"

What does he miss in the music industry? "Songs of Sahir, Shailendra, Hasrat Jaipuri. How good music can be given if songs are worthless?

True!

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