Amaal Mallik Channels His Inner Shah Rukh Khan For New Song ‘Mohabbat’

The singer-composer also talks about how family ties led him to look at music in the “digital meets live” sense

Amaal Mallik in a still from the music video for “Mohabbat.”

Described as his most ambitious pop single yet, singer-composer Amaal Mallik made “Mohabbat” – released in July via T-Series – with lyricist Vayu and producer Vaibhav Pani. As is the case with most mainstream pop releases, the music video plays a big part in Mallik’s push. It’s shot in Ladakh (at sub-zero temperatures) and sees the M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story soundtrack composer bring out the arms-wide-open pose popularized by acting star Shah Rukh Khan.

Mallik tells Rolling Stone India that the idea was to make the song and video “really grand and romantic.” He adds, “It’s a tribute to Shah Rukh Khan sir and Yash Raj Chopra ji and the kind of films that they’ve put out, from Darr to Veer Zaara. We’re all Nineties kids so I wanted to bring that nostalgia to screen.”

More than just a visual homage to SRK, Mallik goes on to say that he’s always been inspired by the Bollywood star, from the person he is and the type of interviews he does, among other aspects. “Mohabbat” came out right after his international collaboration “I Miss You Amore/Yaadein Hai Teri,” with Italian vocalist Matteo Bocelli, plus “Sun Maahi,” a pop song with his brother, singer-songwriter Armaan Malik.

Between song projects like “Mohabbat” or his soundtrack work, Mallik says they’re “completely different worlds” in that the latter is often guided by the respective film’s director. “I think all these films have had somewhat the realest version of me and my musicianship,” he adds, referring to M.S. Dhoni and Airlift, among other soundtracks that brought in more rock elements. At the core of it, as a musician, he hopes that all of his songs can stand out on their own as worthy of repeat listens, even outside of the context of a film soundtrack. “I want people to listen to the songs in their own time, their own space, and isolation… maybe on a drive. So every time they hear it, they should be able to feel it’s part of their journey as well, even if they’ve not seen the movie or they don’t know where it’s from,” he says.

Although not genre-bound, Mallik’s composing palette often includes rock and more instrument-involved songs rather than electronic elements. As a producer, he started out working with the likes of composers Amar Mohile, Salim-Sulaiman and Sandeep Chowta. But then of course, there was his lineage – being the son of Daboo Malik, nephew to Anu Malik and grandson of Sardar Malik. “My grandfather would do a few sessions… not really release those songs, but often jam with live musicians. With these guys [like Chowta], I understood the balance of using music production and using electronic elements – using laptops, plugins and software – and how that world can work along with live instruments. It’s a very digital-meet-live world now. It’s beautiful,” he says.

He extends that into his live shows as well, which include everything from a retro-pop piano set to love songs to electronic club-ready tunes, all doled out with a band on stage as well. “There’s something for everybody,” he says. Back from a recent gig in Dubai, Mallik believes the Gulf with its desi diaspora still has a similar affinity for Bollywood music as people back in India.

Mallik counts up to a decade of his working in the music industry and “Mohabbat” is his 111th song. He’s working on his next single, while also curating Armaan Malik’s next album. “It’s something we’re doing after several years – I’m composing about three-four songs on that album,” he says.

Watch the video for “Mohabbat” below