Armaan Malik has no airs about himself; he loves becoming a part of this place the
moment he sets foot here, soaking in the experience. Spending time in Panjim as
he strolled on the streets searching for picture perfect spots, he was
surprised that a song he released on YouTube was consistently gaining views.
“‘Ready To Move’ is a new non film single
and the video is for the theme of Tiger Shroff’s active wear brand called
Prowl. It’s been out for less than a week and has already crossed over 21
million views on YouTube. It has got a lot of love and support from fans.
Amaal, Tiger Shroff and I have collaborated earlier for ‘Sab Tera’ for ‘Baaghi’
and that was a really big song two years ago; the connection between all three
of us is really strong. Since Tiger was building his own brand, he approached
Amaal for the music and then Tiger said that my voice suits him a lot and many
people also commented that the video looks like Tiger himself is singing. It is
good to have this music run parallel to film music as it keeps non film music
alive in the country. I’m glad that we have such options where we can
experiment with genres. The VFX of the video are very cool, especially with the
ball,” Armaan shares.
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Though Armaan and his elder brother, music
composer Amaal, have been a part of the industry since their childhood, he made
his grand entry into singing in 2008. They are the sons of Daboo and Jyothi
Malik. Besides Hindi, he has been singing in different languages including
Konkani. “I sung a Konkani song for the music album ‘Mog Asom 2’. It’s a famous
album in Konkani and they did second version of the album and I am featured in
it along with a few Bollywood singers as well. Among all the languages that I
sing, I only understand Telugu because my mom is Telugu,” he says.
He enjoys working with his brother in the
studio and shares the same energy in music. “Musically, we both synergise on a
common level. We both have these uncanny thoughts about music and it is almost
on the same wavelength. Whenever we are in the studio, I always have a tough
time singing for my brother because he is a perfectionist when it comes to his
songs. It is a nightmare for me as I have to keep singing till he finds it to
be perfect. We always end up fighting but these fights are really important for
the song to come out right. Amaal uses his big brother power to the max,” explains
Armaan.
Speaking about his experience of working
with other music composers besides writing his own songs, he says, “I have been
singing songs for everyone since the last 10-12 years. I have sung for quite a
few music composers, including Amit Trivedi, Shankar-Ehsaan- Loy, Amaal, Pritam
and Vishal Shekhar. In Bollywood, you have to sing for a composer but when you
do non film stuff, you can do your own thing, write your own thoughts and
compositions. It is good as you learn and work with other music composers and
you have the creative freedom to mould your song the way you want to. Both have
their advantages.” He believes that ‘Main Rahoon Ya Na Rahoon’ was the most
difficult song he ever sang.
Being part of the film fraternity, Armaan
feels that your work should stand out if you want to be in the limelight. “When
our work got out and the songs became popular, the whole image changed. We were
part of the fraternity and yet not part of it even when dad was working. Even
being invited to a Filmfare event was a big thing but we were never invited.
Almost eight to ten years ago, we got a nomination and we were invited for the
awards because of our work. I feel your work speaks more for itself rather than
you. It feels great to experience all the fame and popularity. We are not the
people who let it hit our head; we are still grounded when it comes to our work
and the way our parents have brought us up. We have seen the transition from
being just a film family, proving what we can do in the industry and seeing our
dad not doing well and taking that as an incentive to work harder,” he
explains.
Armaan is working on Bollywood films songs as well as non film
singles and even collaborating with international singers for his English
songs. “I have a few Bollywood films in hand and I am also working on my next
non film single by the end of the year. The video will feature me. Earlier this
year, I released ‘Ghar Se Nikalte Hi’ and that gave me incentive to do more
songs where I am also featured. It is about time that singers start getting the
face value that they deserve. I am consciously doing this in every song that I
do. I am working towards that identity as much as possible. I am working on
some English music as I am very passionate about writing and singing in
English. There is nothing concrete as yet but the main goal is to release songs
in English and eventually an album or an EP. All the songs will be written and
composed by me. I had a lot of songs written in my bank but I feel now is the
right time to put it out there.”
Armaan
can’t get enough of Goa and loves shooting photos in Panjim “Wherever I travel,
I select some spots to click pictures. I’ve been to Goa quite often and I
really love the place, especially the food. I love the traditional poie and the
fish curry and I enjoy eating in shacks. If I was not singing, I would have
opened up a chain of restaurants all over India and the world. That is still my
passion and later on I definitely will do something along these lines,”
concludes Armaan.
