Amal and I have our creative differences: Armaan Malik

At 18 and 22 years respectively brothers Armaan and Amal Malik have already done what most youngsters their age wouldnrsquot have even dreamt of Sons of music composer Daboo Malik and nephews of singer and composer Anu Malik the duo marked their entry into Bollywood with Salman Khanrsquos latest release Jai Ho While Amal has composed the music for the film Armaan has sung three tracks including Tumko toh aana hi tha Love you till the end and the title track of the film along with Wajid of Sajid Wajid Here the musical duo speak about working with Salman Khan their musical lineage and their camaraderieWhile Amal Malik right has composed the music for Jai Ho Armaan has sung three tracks including Tumko toh aana hi tha Love you till the end and the title trackThe two of you got a chance to start your career with Salman Khan How does it feel Amal Itrsquos unreal The day Salman told me I want the songs Tumko toh aana hi tha Love you till the end I was taken aback I thought I misheard It does not get bigger than thisArmaan We could not have asked for a better start to our careerBoth of you are really young in a very competitive industry Do you think you are mature enough to face it Amal I have been working as an assistant since the age of 16 and Irsquove seen and learnt a lot about this industry Competition is good I will only bring out the best in me and Irsquom up for the challenge Armaan All over the world people are kickstarting their careers at a very young age Competition exists in every field today One has to strive to only better onersquos own work Maturity lies in understanding your own strengths and weaknesses and I think Amal and I have a good understanding of bothWhile growing up were you always inclined towards music Did the atmosphere at home encourage the two of you Amal Since childhood Armaan and I have seen musicians at home music sittings and cassettes CDs keyboards and guitars everywhere My grandfather Sardar Malik has been a major influence in my life and I have learnt all the Hindustani Classical music from him I took up the piano and western music at Trinity College of London I am a computer addict so that encouraged me to learn how to make music on the computer which is also how I started producing music There was no one in my family who could read and write music the way people in the West do It was my fatherrsquos dream that I learn music the proper way It was my inner calling as well I was in love with the idea of creating something I started making random tunes at the age of 12 and by 16 I was out there working with music directors from the industryDo you take advice from your father and uncle Amal Both Dad and Anu uncle are very different personalities and great composers in their own right I have not confided much in my uncle but my father has always been encouraging and he gives me the right guidance If he does not like my song he will be honest with me He understands my style and respects how I envision a song But their experience is priceless So I take in the advice and see how I can incorporate the ideas Armaan My Dad always gives his valuable inputs and we incorporate and fuse it into our music in our own wayYou both have worked with each other and there is a comfort level between you both Would it be as easy singing for or composing for other musicians as well Amal I am currently working on a background score with Salim and Sulaiman We have been working with others for a while now and we are loving it without any hiccups Its a learning curve Armaan I have been professionally singing from the age of eight with all the leading music composers of our country such SalimSulaiman VishalShekhar Shankar Mahadevan Amit Trivedi among others The key to working with different composers successfully is to adapt yourself to their requirements and delivering the song to the best of your capability There definitely is a comfort zone with Amal but at the same time we have our creative differences tooArmaan you have recently released a private album as well But the market for private albums isnrsquot doing that well How do plan to change that Armaan I think the change is just round the bend Itrsquos already happening Many singers are coming out with their own independent singles and albums Irsquom sure that very soon independent music in India will come up in a very big way just as in the WestAs brothers where do you think the otherrsquos strength lies Amal I think Armaan is a gifted singer and he is an amazing guitarist He is very focused for his age and when he sings he puts his soul into a song He is one of those few singers who can make a good song into a terrific song He is a taiyaar ready singer and is extremely versatile He can tackle a raagbased song or an RampB pop song with as much finesseArmaan Amal is a very gifted musician He has a flair for writing lyrics His strength lies in his ability to bring a certain freshness and a youth appeal to his compositions and his arrangements This is evident in his compositions for Jai Ho too He is also an amazing pianist