Bollywood brothers Armaan Malik, 21, and Amaal Mallik, 25, are heading to Dubai.
The duo will perform at Dubai World Trade Centre on August 26 — their first public gig in the city.
Between the two of them, they have singing, playback singing and composing credits, and they plan to play everything from their softer, more romantic ballads to ‘some hard-core EDM dance numbers’, with a few surprise acts in between.
The younger of the two, Armaan told tabloid! about his dreams of being the best singer in the world — and why fighting with his brother has helped pave the way.
Let’s rewind to the early days. What were you guys like as kids? Mischievous? Studious?
I was a very obedient, studious kinda guy. I started working very early (at the age of 9 to be precise) and I missed out on all the ‘fun things’ that kids usually indulge in at that age. Now I am definitely more chilled out than I was before.
Have you always known you want to pursue music?
Ever since I was 4 years old, I knew I wanted to be a singer. And not just any singer, the world’s best singer. I’ve always had lofty dreams and I never looked back.
What kind of brothers are you and Amaal? Do you get competitive behind the scenes?
Amaal and I both have our share of fights and creative differences. And yes, that’s important, because then we finally arrive on something that suits both of us. We both are of contrasting personalities. Amaal is like a creative scientist who loves a little bit of imperfection ‘cause he finds beauty in it. On the other hand, I’m more of a perfectionist and I like doing everything to its best. But sometimes both these qualities fall together really beautifully. We complement each other really well.
Do you consider yourself the younger brother, or are you too close in age for that?
I’m the younger one and we are 5 years apart. We have that older brother/younger brother thing happening all the time. But the best part is even though I’m younger, Amaal listens to my opinions because they matter a lot to him. We have a lot of respect for each other.
You recently did a cover of Justin Bieber’s Sorry. What has the response been like?
A: The response has been phenomenal! Many people are surprised that I can sing in English and that is exactly the reaction I wanted to invoke. Many people pointed out that I’m one of the few Indian singers who got the English ‘accent’ right.
We have to ask — Mallik versus Malik. What’s the story behind the extra L?
My Malik is how the family name is normally spelt! Amaal’s Mallik is his story…
You’re currently judging a talent competition for radio. Can you tell us more about that?
It’s an interesting concept. I have myself been on the other side of the table being a participant of a singing talent hunt. It’s awesome to judge a pool of talent that our nation [India] has.
What’s next for the two of you? What are the main projects are you working on at the moment?
I just recently released a single Pyaar Manga Hai, which did extremely well. There are two collaborations with Amaal: Sau Aasmaan, in the movie Baar Baar Dekho, and a few tracks in the prestigious movie M.S. Dhoni — The Untold Story. I’m also working on a T-Series single that will feature me in the music video. It’s gonna be a pop-dance track — something the audiences have not heard me do so frequently!
*Tickets are Dh75-Dh1,500 on platinumlist.net.
