Iconic Bollywood composer turned his back on parents after becoming famous, left them to ‘suffer in silence' in small house: ‘Thought of family as excess baggage'

Indian Express

3 days ago

Without a doubt, composer Anu Malik has had a tumultuous career, with more troughs and crests than anyone could expect. He composed his first full album for the film Poonam, starring Raj Babbar and Poonam Dhillon, just before attaining mainstream success with the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Mard (1985). Apart from the many notable albums he has composed, Anu isn't a stranger to controversy and has been accused of plagiarism and sexual misconduct on several occasions. Another dark chapter in Anu's life is his relationship with his family, and his brother Daboo Malik recently talked about the same during an interview.
On the Vickey Lalwani podcast, Daboo was asked point blank what Anu's relationship was like with the rest of the family. He said, 'Maybe people might want to hear this, and I have even mentioned this in my book. What happened was that Anu became too famous, and his career went forward with stupendous pace. He was so quick to success that his family was left behind, including me, Abu (brother), and our parents. We were never part of his success; he had his own family and his own life, and we could never directly enjoy the wealth, the name and the position that came with Anu's career. We were definitely known as his brothers, but we had a separate life.'
ALSO READ: Anu Malik 'betrayed' his brother Daboo Malik, 'sabotaged' his career, claims Amaal Mallik: 'He dealt with depression, was too naive to fight back'
He admitted that Anu has had a stellar career in Bollywood, which created an economic gap between him and the others. 'He was the man that broke the clutter, the one who broke free. People should remember the fact that he saw immense struggle all the way from the age of 17. Everyone should acknowledge all that he has achieved in his life, but he never let anyone use his position or the power that came with it. He was trying to safeguard himself, but that caused the distance between us to grow. Ameer aur gareeb ka chakkar hogaya. Mere papa toh wahi rahe chote se ghar ke andar (It became a matter of rich and poor. My father still continued living in that small house. He never saw the inclusive success, and Anu never invited the parents to live with him,' said Daboo.
When asked about why Anu never invited their parents to live with him, Daboo explained that people have different expectations with lives, and sometimes certain aspects of your life don't fit in your plan anymore. He made it clear that he can't exactly speak for his brother but said, 'I think that some people might equate taking care of parents to something of a liability. A lot of relationships follow your parents, and you might not like those people. You will have to respect those people as well, and maybe he didn't want to accommodate for that. In this case it can be us as younger brothers and our families, associates and extended relationships. The disparity in our positions in society was the biggest reason for the distance. If a person is watching the world from a peak, from the very top, he wouldn't want to take care of excess baggage. Still, my parents never held a grudge and just suffered in silence. All of us could have taken better care of our parents.'
The Malik family has experienced separation after Anu also, as Daboo's own son Amaal Mallik announced a split from family earlier this year over reported rifts with his parents. They eventually made up.