Amaal Mallik says he and brother Armaan Malik were made to feel like outsiders: ‘It was more reverse nepotism for us’

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“Between 2016-2018, I said a lot of things about some awards, issues with some actors or labels, and I took a stand on a lot of things. It wasn’t like because I was doing Bigg Boss, I became vocal. I was getting the show offered for five years, but it never worked out. I then thought I was not cut out to be a Bigg Boss contestant; it wasn’t my zone,” added the music composer-singer.

On why he chose Bigg Boss 19

After rejecting the show for five years, Amaal Mallik gave in this year. He shared, “Since I was the last person getting into it, the probable list of contestants was not bad. There were different kinds of contestants. Earlier, when they had approached me, I said no because I didn’t want to be around babas (priests) who threw urine. I said I couldn’t tolerate all this, so that I would reject the offer. This time, all the contestants were cool, bringing something to the table. I had the window since I was only doing two films, and most of the songs were ready; they had to go for the shoot, and it worked out well. People could relate to the guy I am. Many thought that I spoke too much on Twitter and Instagram. They wondered if I had so many guts in real life, so I was like, let them see me.”

On talking about his family and his father’s struggles

From the very first week, Amaal Mallik was vocal about the struggles his family has faced. Amaal also shared he faced “reverse nepotism”. The music composer-singe said, “Whenever I would get nominated, I used to think that my mother would give me one tight slap when I went home, for sharing the family’s history, chemistry, biodata, like naked truth. People were questioning me. I was hearing the nepotism word for years, but it was more reverse nepotism for us. I was working in a studio, and the minute they got to know, I was Daboo Mallik’s son, they threw me out of there. I was just an assistant. So many times, I have lost out on opportunities. I used to take pen drives with film data for Rs 500 conveyance. We never got a silver spoon, and our father was not Anu Malik. He was the successful one; my dad did his few years of successful work, but he never got an invitation, nomination, or position. After doing 75 films, when you see your hero, your father, not being invited to various awards… fortunately or unfortunately, my mom put us in a school where there was Shraddha Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, and everyone was going for these things, so we were also made to feel like outsiders in a way.”

Talking about his father’s struggles, Amaal shared, “My grandfather died when I was 15. My father quit his career, left 20 films, and told me that I had to start earning. I was playing district-level football, had gotten admission in NM College. I thought of enjoying college life, but I went straight to assisting Raju Singh doing TV serials like Miley Jab Hum Tum, Sanjeevani. I was a baby who was learning and working only because I had to earn 5 to 10 thousand rupees for my family. Had we been so sorted, which father would have asked his 15-year-old son to help? I am glad my father did. If he hadn’t told me this, I would not be sitting here. I wanted to debut at 35, but today I am already something, so he is the catalyst.”

He added, “There is no son like my father. I wouldn’t be able to do what he did. He left 20 films and got himself admitted to the ICU of Hinduja Hospital on a bed next to his father. He stayed there until his father passed away. Who among us even leaves their career and comes home when their parent is sick? When he did that, I thought I had to give back to this man. He had a heart attack after 2-3 years, so I thought that before my father leaves this world, I should at least do something, so he wouldn’t feel his sons were not able to do anything.”

From a very young age, Amaal Mallik and Armaan Malik decided to write their own success story. Luckily, they did. Talking about this, Amaal said, “We had to change the narrative. Everywhere we were known as Anu Malik’s nephew. Today we have taken it to him being known as Amaal and Armaan’s uncle. He should also feel proud that we have taken the legacy ahead respectfully. In the last decade, there have been no young kids other than Armaan and me who have done such good original music. Everyone has done good work, but their songs are in and out in two months. If my song ‘Sooraj Dooba Hai’ from 2015 is still sustaining, there is some blessing and hard work. It is Daboo Malik’s failure that we got blessed with success. We didn’t go mad with success. Our mother kept us grounded and on a very tight leash, ensuring that neither success went to our heads nor failure brought us down too much.”