Amaal Mallik says grandfather went from being Bollywood’s top composer to destitute, begged him for one last album on deathbed

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He added, “When I did a song like ‘Sooraj Dooba Hai‘, the pressure increased, because I had to live up to that. When I was 14, and my grandfather was on hos deathbed, his last wish to me was that he wanted to make a song with me. He said, ‘Ek album kara de mera (Help me make an album). So now I have been working for over 20 years. You get burnt out.”

Recalling all the troubles he faced while trying to bring financial stability to his family, Amaal said, “I had to be very emotionally strong from a very young age. Because I wanted to keep Armaan away from everything. I saw my family’s struggle and tried to use that to make music. In that process of taking care of my family, I didn’t take care of my health. There were times like when I thought of calling my family and just saying that, ‘I am tired; take care of me.’ To bring stability to my family, I had to move away from them. I was constantly thinking about work and how to get food on the table. It’s not a good thing because balance is important.”

Anu Malik with his father Sardar Malik. (Photo: Express Archives)

Who was Sardar Malik?

According to his son Daboo, Sardar Malik ran away from his home at the age of 14 because some men wanted to take his life. He sneaked into the Maharaja of Kapurthala’s palace and begged to be assigned some work as a dancer. Prominent dancer Uday Shankar was also at the party and decided to give the young boy a chance. He later took training in music, and soon his songs started making waves.

After making a name for himself with the film Sarang (1961), Sardar managed to move to a lavish bungalow in Bollywood’s plush Juhu area. But soon things started going south, and work started running out. Daboo claimed his father’s career was sabotaged by his competitors. Amaal recited an anecdote during his stint in Bigg Boss and said that his grandfather had to move into a chawl because he had no money. “Because of this one person, our house saw famine, there was no food left. That person declared that whoever will give work to Sardar Malik, I will not step in that studio. He misused his power so much,” Amaal said.

Seeing his state, his sons decided to make something of themselves, and Anu picked up music from a very young age. However, Daboo recalled in his own podcast series that his father was a mere spectator of Anu’s success and that he wasn’t included in it. Sardar also did many odd jobs in order to bring food to the table, such as working as a carpenter. After dealing with prolonged illness, Sardar Malik passed away in 2006, at age 76.