I watch Allu Arjun’s Pushpa on repeat, says Armaan Malik

Armaan Malik is a name to reckon with in the Indian film industry. In an exclusive interview with Deccan Chronicle during his recent visit to Hyderabad, the singer with chartbusters like Butta Bomma and Ninnila talks about his Telugu roots, love for pachadis and podis and declares his undying love for Icon Star Allu Arjun. The singer also reveals why Hyderabad is lucky for him.

How does it feel to be back in Hyderabad?

I have a very special connection with people in Hyderabad. I have sung some of my best numbers in Telugu for some brilliant movies for some brilliant composers. Some of those songs are hot favorites. Whenever I come here for a concert, I get a lot of love. People come in big numbers for my concerts to cheer me on. I think I have the biggest fans in India from Hyderabad. I hope to keep coming back to the city. I would like to consider Hyderabad as my city as well because it has given me so much love, respect and adulation

Tell us about your Telugu connection

My mom is Telugu, so I'm technically half Telugu. I really love the culture. I have grown up on Andhra food. And now that I have sung so many songs in Telugu and I keep coming to Hyderabad and performing in the language, I feel a sense of pride in a way, because I feel like I am taking my mom's culture forward. It's also the culture I resonate with. I am very happy that I have been able to sing so many songs in Telugu and they have gone on to do so well. And that I get so much love and adulation here.

Hyderabad sentiment

I just feel like Hyderabad is my lucky city, in a way. Whenever I do a big concert here, my year goes really well. So, I am glad that I am here in this city and doing such a massive concert. Obviously, for me as an artist, to say that one city is my most favourite, is not fair to all the fans that are from across the country and across the world. But I have to say that Hyderabad is very, very special. I do at least two to three concerts in the city. Not all of them are on the same scale. One will always be massive and the others might be a little small. Sometimes I perform in some colleges also in Hyderabad.

You have sung songs in many South Indian languages like Kannada and Tamil too. Which language are you most comfortable with?

I think Telugu and Kannada have been my biggest industries so far. Both are comfortable for me at this point because having sung it for so many years, it's just become second nature for me. Telugu is close to my heart obviously because it's my mother tongue. But Kannada is also a beautiful language that I love singing. It's a very romantic language. And they are very similar in many ways. There are lots of words that overlap as well. So it's not like I want to choose one language over the other. I love all the languages I sing in. But Telugu and Kannada are really close to my heart.

What language do you speak at home?

When I am with my ammamma, I speak in Telugu a little bit because she prefers to speak in Telugu and she always reprimands me saying you don't speak properly in Telugu. But I will try my best.

What is the creative process for collaborations? How do you decide who to work with, is there a criteria?

Honestly, there's no criteria as such to pick anyone for a collaboration. But I would like to collaborate with like-minded artists, someone who's on the same wavelength as me. And if you are doing a song with someone, you really want to like the human as well. I'm grateful for opportunities like collaborating with artists like Ed Sheeran and Eric Nam in Kashmir, who's a K-pop singer and an American DJ. So, the only criteria is that they just have to be amazing human beings.

What was it like to collaborate with Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran is one of the biggest stars in the world. When I got on stage with him in Mumbai, I was surprised to see such a big superstar being so humble. I made him do the Butta Bomma hookstep. He is a very chilled person with no air about being a big superstar in the world.

Which songs would you say were the game-changers in your career?

I have had different game-changers across the industry. In the Hindi space, I think a game-changer for me was the ‘wajah Tum ho’ for Hate Story and ‘tumhe apna banane ka’. And then ‘Main rahoon ya na rahoon’, which was an independent single, which went on to do really well. In the Telugu space, obviously, the first entry point was Ninnila from Toli Prema which became massive and then Butta Bomma, which was a monstrous hit.

In Kannada, there was Sariyaagi from the movie Mungaru Male 2, Ondumale Billu and Devare for Hebbuli, a song for Puneet Sir’s Neenadena, which became massive hits. I am just grateful that I get to do these amazing songs in these different industries.

Rapid Fire

Your future projects

Exciting and unique

Do you watch Telugu movies? Who is your favourite actor?

I do watch Telugu movies and my favourite actor is undoubtedly Icon star, Allu Arjun

Which was the last movie you watched?

I have been watching Pushpa on repeat, Ala Vaikunthapuramuloo. But I really loved Naa Peru Surya

Your favourite Telugu food

Among vegetables, I really love Vankaya. I love pachadi and the podis

What about Hyderabad you like the most

I love that fans here are very loving, passionate and warm. The energy in the city is amazing

Music reality shows

Not as real as they come across as

Live concert or studio recording?

I think without studio recording, there would be no live concert. But live concerts are the best experience.

Your inspiration in the music industry?

Growing up, it was Sonu Nigam. And then obviously later on when I started exposing myself to different genres, there were a lot of other artists like Bruno Mars, Michael Jackson that really inspired me. But, Sonu Nigam has been a huge inspiration for me.

Who is your biggest supporter in the industry?

Tiger Shroff. I have sung a few songs for him. He is definitely someone who has always supported me.

Your message to Armanians (fans)

I love you all. I would like to consider Hyderabad as my city as well because it has given me so much love, respect and adulation