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Sexual assault allegations against Anu Malik ‘shattered our family’, says brother Daboo: ‘We saw to it that he got back to work’
Anu Malik was accused of sexual misconduct by singers Sona Mohapatra, Neha Bhasin, Shweta Pandit, and Alisha Chinai back in 2018. Now, his younger brother Daboo Malik has defended him.
Anu Malik's brother Daboo Malik defends him years after he was accused of sexual misconduct during the Me Too movement.
In 2018, during the #MeToo movement in India, several female singers levelled allegations of sexual misconduct against music composer Anu Malik. So much so that he was dropped as a judge from Indian Idol 8, and resigned from season 9 after receiving backlash for being reinstated the very next year. However, in 2010, the National Women Commission gave him a clean chit for lack of evidence. Now, Anu’s younger brother and fellow composer Daboo Malik has opened up on what the Malik family went through during that episode. “It shattered us as a family. He was also taken aback. We couldn’t handle the pain he went through at the time with so many people targeting him. We supported him emotionally. We saw to it that he got back in terms of work and meetings,” he said.
In the interview with Vickey Lalwani, he further added, “As a family, I couldn’t pass any judgement. One should not. He saw a very difficult time. I have supported him on an individual level because when you see someone going through so much, it was quite a setback for him.” Daboo is the father of composer Amaal Mallik and singer Armaan Malik.
Daboo also revealed that his and Anu’s parents couldn’t wrap their heads around the latter’s controversy because of their old age. “They couldn’t understand what was happening. They were in their 80s.” He also argued that Anu shouldn’t be on the receiving end of so much scrutiny on social media because he isn’t a star like Shah Rukh Khan. “We give it too much importance. I don’t think we are stars. He is not a Shah Rukh Khan or a superstar. We are musicians. Unnecessarily, we keep talking about someone on social media and end up giving them a position. I don’t think we are that important to even have this conversation,” added Daboo.
Singer Sona Mohapatra was the first to accuse Anu Malik in 2018, claiming that he would call her at odd hours and once referred to her as “maal” in front of her composer-husband Ram Sampath. Singers Neha Bhasin, Alisha Chinai, and Shweta Pandit also came forward with their stories of alleged harassment at the hands of Anu Malik when they were young and looking for work.
Pandit said she was 15 when she was called for an audition at the end of which Malik demanded a kiss in exchange for giving her a song. The incident, she said, left her scarred. Bhasin said she had met him to present her work on a CD and was hoping for a song break, but his behaviour turned out to be that of an “ugly pervert”. “Being a father of two daughters, I can’t imagine committing the acts that I am accused of, let alone do it,” Anu Malik had stated in 2019, denying all allegations.
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