1975–1984: Early years Malik began his career as a music director in 1975 for comedian-turned-filmmaker
Mohan Choti's film
Hunterwali 77 (1977) with the stage name
Annu Malik. Malik's father Sardar Malik composed songs for the film, with Anu, who was then 16–17 years old, composing only one song "Zulm O Sitam Par Itrane Wale" for the film, sung by
Asha Bhosle and written by his maternal uncle
Hasrat Jaipuri. The soundtrack went unnoticed but it marked the beginning of his lengthy association with Bhosle. He would then get his first full soundtrack for
Harmesh Malhotra's film
Poonam (1981) on the recommendation of playback singer
Shailendra Singh, whom Malik befriended after listening to the music of
Bobby. The film failed at the box office but some songs were noticed, namely "Main Hoon Haseena", "Mohabbat Rang Laye Gi" and "Aa Zara Mere Humnasheen", featuring his rare collaborations with singer
Mohammad Rafi, who died within days after recording the songs. Malik continued his collaborations with Harmesh Malhotra with films
Aapas Ki Baat (1981) and
Mangal Pandey (1982). He also composed music for other films like
Paagal Premee (1982) and
Ek Jaan Hai Hum (1983) but the films were box office failures. A few songs of the latter film "Dil Lagana Tum Kya Jano", "Aasmaan Pe Likh Doon" and "Yaad Teri Aayegi" received some recognition. In 1983, Malik sang his first song as a playback singer "Beete Huay Lamhe" for
Nigahen (1983), with music composed by his father Sardar Malik. Anu Malik gained his first exposure in 1984 with
Aasmaan, which featured catchy tracks such as "Banke Nazar Dil Ki Zubaan" rendered by
Kishore Kumar and "Time Bomb" rendered by Asha Bhosle and Kishore Kumar, which received critical acclaim. His next soundtrack for the film
Sohni Mahiwal released later that year was a huge success and earned him his first nomination for the
Filmfare Award for Best Music Director. Malik began getting more recognition and more work after his success in 1984 as he got more soundtracks throughout the mid-1980s but was unable to find a footing in Bollywood due to the rule of
Bappi Lahiri,
R.D. Burman,
Kalyanji-Anandji and
Laxmikant-Pyarelal at the time.
1985–1992: Mard and initial breakthrough During his struggle phase, Malik composed his first
Indipop album
Jadoo (1985) featuring the vocals of playback singer
Alisha Chinai as her first private album. Later that year, Malik got his first mainstream breakthrough with
Manmohan Desai's film
Mard, which got Malik noticed in Bollywood for the first time. Malik introduced playback singer
Mohammad Aziz in
Mard and Aziz frequently collaborated with Malik in his various soundtracks. As a result, Malik received more offers to compose songs for films. During this phase, his song "Apno Me Mai Begana" from
Begaana became a hit and gained a cult following. In 1987, Malik began full-time playback singing while recording a song "Julie Julie" for
Jeete Hain Shaan Se when Kishore Kumar did not show up for recording the song. Kumar's son
Amit Kumar was then called for the song but he did not arrive as well and then the film's lead actor
Mithun Chakraborty recommended Malik to sing the song. He recorded two more songs for the soundtrack, "Salaam Seth Salaam Seth" and "Rab Roothe Roothe". This soundtrack also marked the first time that he collaborated with
Kumar Sanu to record a version of "Julie Julie" with
Kavita Krishnamurthy which was not included in the film. However, it would lead to several collaborations with Sanu in the future. "Julie Julie" became a huge hit and the film emerged as a major success at the box office. He had many soundtracks throughout the following years without much success. He earned acclaim for his music in
Awaargi (1990) which featured the famous ghazal "Chamakte Chand Ko Toota Hua" sung by
Ghulam Ali. Malik originally composed music in the same style as other music composers during the 1970s and 1980s. However, in 1990, Malik began changing his music style on the recommendation of
Anuradha Paudwal which would become his trademark style. Early songs in that trademark style included "Maa Hi Mandir" by Mohammad Aziz and the hit song "Aaine Ke Sau Tukde" by Kumar Sanu from
Maa (1991), "Hum Nahin To Tum Nahin" and "Teri Zulfein Shaam Si Roshan" from
Ramgarh Ke Sholay (1991), "Jaanam Jaanam Jaanam" from
Virodhi (1992) and "Choone Se Tere" from
Dil Ne Ikraar Kiya (1992). Other hit songs during that period included "Dil Diwane Ka Dola Dildaar Ke Liye" from
Tahalka (1992) and "Is Pyar Se Meri Taraf Na Dekho" from
Chamatkar (1992). It was during this era that he also modified his name to
Anu Malik.
1993–2004: Baazigar and continued success in Bollywood music The year 1993 marked a turning point in Malik's career as it was the most successful year of his career at that time. His first release that year was
Phool Aur Angaar which was a huge success. Malik received his first taste of success with
Mahesh Bhatt's television film
Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee which featured superhit songs including "Badalon Mein Chup Raha Hai", "Dil Mein Sanam Ki Soorat" and "Tere Dar Par Sanam Chale Aaye". The success of the film was followed by Bhatt's directorial
Sir which had hit songs such as "Sun Sun Barsaat Ki Dhun" and "Yeh Ujli Chandni". His final release of that year was
Baazigar which was a huge success with the songs "Baazigar O Baazigar", "Kitabein Bahut Si", "Chhupana Bhi Nahi Aata", "Aye Mere Humsafar" and most notably "Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein", for which Malik rapped a few lines. It sold 10million units and became the year's best selling soundtrack for Bollywood. It catapulted Malik into stardom and established him as one of the top music directors of Bollywood alongside Nadeem-Shravan and
Jatin–Lalit. Malik won his first Filmfare Award for Best Music Director for
Baazigar at the
39th Filmfare Awards in 1994. In fact, Malik was the number one music director of Bollywood during 1994 after the release of
Baazigar. His popular and successful soundtracks during the year included
Khuddar,
Imtihaan,
Aa Gale Lag Jaa,
Vijaypath and
Main Khiladi Tu Anari. His success continued with subsequent films
Naajayaz (1995),
The Gambler (1995),
Akele Hum Akele Tum (1995),
Chaahat (1996),
Diljale (1996),
Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996),
Daraar (1996),
Krishna (1996),
Virasat (1997),
Judwaa (1997),
Border (1997),
Ishq (1997),
Ankhon Mein Tum Ho (1997),
China Gate (1998),
Soldier (1998),
Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain (1999),
Jaanam Samjha Karo (1999),
Biwi No.1 (1999),
Haseena Maan Jaayegi (1999) and
Baadshah (1999). He received further nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director for
Main Khiladi Tu Anari,
Akele Hum Akele Tum,
Border,
Soldier,
Biwi No.1 and
Haseena Maan Jaayegi during the decade. Meanwhile, his songs in
Mahesh Bhatt's
The Gentleman where criticized for being lifted from
A. R. Rahman's compositions for the original Tamil film, to which Malik responded saying "I am an inspired music director. I would never lift the whole thing". Aside from composing, Malik lent his voice for his compositions on various occasions such as "Maari Gayi" from
Jaanam (1992), "My Adorable Darling" and the rapping portion of "Main Khiladi Tu Anari" from
Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994) and "Oonchi Hai Building" and "East or West" from
Judwaa (1997). He also released several albums in the
Indipop genre which he sang by himself including
Tera Chehra (1995), English album
Eyes (1997),
Lafda Na Ho Jaye (1997) and
Ho Raha Hai Sama (1999). Malik had major success in the year 2000 with best-selling soundtracks including
Hera Pheri,
Badal,
Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega,
Aaghaaz,
Fiza,
Josh and
Refugee. His soundtrack for
Refugee was critically acclaimed as he became the only music director to win the
Filmfare Special Award for his compositions in the movie at the
46th Filmfare Awards. He also received the
National Film Award for Best Music Direction for
Refugee at the
48th National Film Awards. In 2001, Malik had best-selling albums with
Chori Chori Chupke Chupke,
Yaadein,
Asoka,
Lajja,
Ajnabee and
Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai. His soundtrack for
Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai earned him his twelfth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director and his soundtrack for
Asoka earned him a nomination for the
Screen Award for Best Music Director. His soundtracks during the year 2002 went unnoticed but he had a resurgence in 2003 with best-selling albums
Ishq Vishk,
Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon,
Khushi,
Munnabhai MBBS and
Inteha and
LOC: Kargil. He received critical acclaim for
LOC: Kargil, which earned him his thirteenth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director and won him his first Screen Award for Best Music Direction. Malik found success with successful best-selling soundtracks such as
Main Hoon Na,
Murder and
Fida in 2004. His soundtrack for
Main Hoon Na earned critical acclaim and won Malik his second Filmfare Award for Best Music Director, his second Screen Award for Best Music Director and his first
Zee Cine Award for Best Music Director.
2005–present: Later career The mid-2000s marked the rise of a new generation of music directors including
A. R. Rahman,
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy,
Vishal–Shekhar,
Pritam Chakraborty and the amount of Malik's work began reducing after 2005 and he accepted his new role as a regular judge on the reality singing competition show
Indian Idol on
Sony Entertainment Television, beginning with its first season in 2004. He received a nomination for the Screen Award for Best Music Director for
Jaan-E-Mann (2006). The year 2007 marked for the first time since 1983 that Malik composed soundtrack for only one film
Undertrial. Malik remained prominent as a judge for various reality television shows but lost major offers as a music director in the coming years. His recent work includes
Kambakkht Ishq (2009),
Yamla Pagla Deewana (2011),
Shootout at Wadala (2013),
Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015),
Begum Jaan (2017) and
Sui Dhaaga (2018). He won his second Zee Cine Award for Best Music Director for
Dum Laga Ke Haisha, which marked his reunion with Kumar Sanu since
No Entry (2005) as well as his first collaboration with
Yash Raj Films.
Collaborations Malik has worked with many Indian playback singers including
Mohammed Rafi,
Kishore Kumar,
Asha Bhonsle,
Amit Kumar, and others. During the '80s, he mostly worked with singers such as
Mohammad Aziz,
Shabbir Kumar,
Manhar Udhas,
Suresh Wadkar,
Nitin Mukesh and
Anwar. Malik worked with
Alisha Chinai to compose the commercially successful singles "Sexy Sexy" and "Ruk Ruk Ruk" from
Vijaypath, "Chot Dil Pe Lagi" from
Ishq Vishk and the songs from
Love Story 2050 and
Kambakkht Ishq. He also worked with Indian film lyricist
Javed Akhtar in films including
Border,
Refugee and
Umrao Jaan. He also worked with
Anuradha Sriram to compose the commercially successful singles "Chunnari Chunnari" from
Biwi No. 1, "Dupatta Mera" from
Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai and "Chand Ko Tod Doonga" from
Shaadi No. 1.
Kumar Sanu,
Udit Narayan and
Alka Yagnik have sung in most of the singles composed by Malik. This trio collaborated on films such as:
Sir,
Phool Aur Angaar,
Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee,
Vijaypath,
Baazigar,
Main Khiladi Tu Anari,
Imtihaan,
Chamatkar,
Gambler,
Akele Hum Akele Tum,
Duplicate,
Kareeb,
Soldier,
Aarzoo,
Ajnabee,
Ishq Vishk and
Fida. Sanu and Yagnik were regular singers for Anu Malik and Malik created many songs individually with Sanu such as "Meri Zindagi Mein Ajnabee" from
Ajnabee (2001) and "Aaine Ke Sau Tukde" from
Maa (1991) and the single "Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhen" from
Baazigar (1993). Following the death of music director
R. D. Burman, Malik has completed music for Burman's unfinished film projects
1942: A Love Story,
Gang and
Ghatak.
Singer Although he is not a mainstream singer, Malik does playback singing. Written off as a singer in his early days ("Julie Julie," for instance), he continues to sing his own compositions, with songs such as "Aaila Re" from the movie
Jung, "Jaanam Samjha Karo" from
Jaanam Samjha Karo, "Ek Garam Chaye ki Pyali" from the movie
Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega, "Gori Gori" in
Main Hoon Na or "Meri Jane Jigar" in
Deewane Huye Paagal. Among his works are "Oonchi Hai Building" and "East or West India is the best" from the movie
Judwaa. and the rap part of "Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhen" of
Baazigar and "Main Khiladi Tu Anari" of
Main Khiladi Tu Anari. While he sings entire songs for some movies, especially those starring
Sunil Shetty,
Paresh Rawal,
Akshay Kumar and
Shahid Kapoor (in
Deewane Huye Paagal he sang almost every song), and has also sung as part of a chorus in "Mehbooba Mehbooba" in the film
Ajnabee, and "Tumse Milke Dilka Jo Haal" for
Main Hoon Na. ==Television career==