Ghar Se Nikalte Hi not made for monetary gain: Amaal Malik [Exclusive]

A reprised version of the popular 90s' song Ghar Se Nikalte Hi was released recently. While Armaan Malik sang the new track, Amaal Malik composed it.

In an exclusive interview with International Business Times India, Amaal spoke in detail about how he got on board for the track, how hard it was to recreate such a classic, and why the pop music culture has faded away now -- excerpts from the interview:

International Business Times: How was the decision -- of you composing and Armaan Malik singing the song-- made? Was there any specific reason?

Amaal: I didn't decide anything. It was Bhushan Kumar's wish to revive the song. He had suggested this song to Armaan, and rightly so, because the imagery that Jugal Hansraj had created 20 years back, that chocolate-boy is Armaan today. And he is not just a singer, he has a good face, people follow him, and like all the stupid cute things that he does. It all happened like one day Armaan was humming the tune with his guitar, and I asked him about it. Then he said Bhushanji asked him to see if he can do something around recreating the song. He said he will be featuring in it. Then I said I would like to give it a shot. I knew it's a difficult song, but somewhere I was confident that I would be able to do it. It was hard to step into the shoes of Rajesh Roshan (composer of the original song), but it turned out to be something that has the essence of today's generation and has the soul of the original song intact. This song has not been made for any monetary gain like other remakes, and hence it's not a remake but a reprise. It's done just because it's a great song, and the new generation should know this beautiful track.

IBT: Did you feel pressurized while composing the song as the original was composed by a veteran like Rajesh Roshan?

Amaal: I feel pressurized in every song. Usually, there is not much pressure in making original songs because it's about putting your own thing. But, it's risky in remakes as you don't want to disturb the environment of the original song, and yet make it different in terms of arrangement, rhythm and tempo. So, there was pressure but I think I have worked the best under pressure.

IBT: Armaan is seen in a couple of song videos, but you have never come in front of the camera. Are you shy of cameras?

Amaal: I need to turn really fit and let go the burgers that I am eating right now before I come in front of a camera. I don't know about shy or not, but I like being in the shadows, and sometimes just come and say what I want to, that's all. The day I feel like I look good enough to come in front of the camera, I will do it.

IBT: The culture of Hindi pop music, which was very popular during the 90s, has faded away now. What do you think is the reason?

Amaal: We are not a music industry, we are a film industry. There is no music industry as such. Even though a lot of people contributes to a song, it's the man in the video who is the most important person. So, it's always the actor before the singer. Now the scenario is such, people would invest money in your music if they feel they can derive benefit from it, which was not the case some years ago. Now, it's not easy to make someone like and convince to invest in a certain song. Earlier, the pop music used to be a vision of the artist, now it's a collaborative vision of a director, or a producer or a label.