Aishwarya Rai

In 2006, I had to strive hard to make my way back to success. But I am happy and content,’’ says music director Anu Malik, prior to the release of Jaan-e-mann, for which he has scored the tunes. ‘‘It was a huge boost for my morale to know that people have appreciated the melody which I believe in,’’ he says.

Competition has never been more stiff for the veteran composer. Over the past year, Himesh Reshammiya’s nasal voice has taken the music scene by storm. But Malik tries puts up a brave front. ‘‘Competition is something that I always look forward to. It makes me stronger. I have raised the bar for myself. I think it’s a big thing to be noticed among 5,000 music directors,’’ he says.

With two big releases—Jaan-e-mann and Umrao Jaan coming up, the veteran composer keeps his fingers crossed. ‘‘Jaan-e-mann retains the spirit of a Broadway musical. It’s as if the characters are breaking into song spontaneously. The producers told me that they didn’t want the usual melody for this film. The script was the most important guideline for me,’’ says Malik as he hums the tunes of the film’s track, Jaan-e-mann.

For obvious reasons, the spotlight is currently on JP Dutta’s version of the classic Umrao Jaan, starring Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan. But Malik chooses to be his diplomatic best. ‘‘A newspaper had written that I was ‘visibly excited’ about Umrao Jaan. I’m upbeat about all my films,’’ says the music director who has scored successful tracks of Kalyug and Murder in recent times.

Malik earlier has composed the tracks in Dutta’s Border and Loc: Kargil. ‘‘It was important to understand the culture of the backdrop of the film. I had to read about it. I have used raagas like maru, kidar, bihag, kaushiki and rageshwari extensively for the songs in Umrao Jaan. It’s as if the songs have come from my heart,’’ he says.

Interestingly, one of the songs in the film, Agle janam mohe betiyan nahijo has been rendered by Malik’s daughter Anmol. ‘‘She has lip synched the track for the young Umrao. Anmol sings and writes lyrics in English. But she is studying and we would want her to finish her education before she considers a career in music,’’ says papa.