'I am not partial'

Malik may have plagiarised English hits but he is capable of composing original melodies too.

Anu Malik is quite a paradox. If one listens to his fast-paced numbers which the teenyboppers sway to in every part of the country, one would assume that he can only cater to the young, but some of his melodious songs from Refugee,Border and LoC have brought tears to many a proud Indian. Undoubtedly, this versatile composer is a man for all seasons. On the eve of his latest film release LoC, he shares some of his thoughts and refutes unfair allegations against him.

HT Image

After lying low for a while, your music in the J P Dutta film LoC is again making waves.
It was great to work with JP and Javed saab once again. It is simply a great honor to be a part of his films. It has been one of the biggest challenges to live up to his and people's expectations because after Refugee and Border, I couldn't have got away with anything less than the best. It's by far the best. There is a 13 and a half minute song, filmed on the entire cast, which was a great challenge in that respect. It would not have been possible to record as many songs for all the actors, hence one song which does justice to all the leading characters. It's a real film with real characters and the music had to be special. After the National Award for Refugee, I cannot be lackadaisical about my work anyway.

You are accused of playing favourites.
That's a wrong allegation. I do use Alka and Sonu a lot but I have also been fair to Shreya Ghoshal, who has sung one of the best songs in LoC. And it's a song which Alka specializes in. There's Anuradha Paudwal too, with whom I am working once again after a along time in a forthcoming album. Time and again, Kavita Krishnamurthy and other talented singers have all recorded for me. Shreya in particular among the present lot, is very impressive and I am using her voice for a lot of compositions.

What special research have you done for Gurinder Chadha's Bride And Prejudice?
It's another film very close to my heart. And I am aware that it's my first brush with an international project. Earlier for Moulin Rouge I wasn't given any credit though I was the first Indian to go international. I have not resorted to techno beats to give my music an international sound. It's very Indian, thus very very melodious and does have some international feel. Just wait and watch!