Happy Birthday Anu Malik: Oonnchi Hai Building to Gori Gori; a look at his popular songs

On Anu Malik's 57th birthday, we thought to take a look at his popular tracks.

By Apoorva Nijhara

Updated on Nov 03, 2017 | 09:21 AM IST | 4.6M

Anu Malik is celebrating his 57th birthday today and he ruled the industry in the 90s. Who can forget - Oonnchi Hai Building from Judwaa which went on to become a cult song and was recreated in the sequel too in 2017. His songs do have a recall value and even if you play Ek Garam Chai Ki Pyali Ho today, you would connect to it and love dancing to the tunes. The idea was to create such songs which can be visited again and again.

Malik was the king of melody in the 90s and his song from every genre was in our playlists. In his over a three-decade career, he has given hit songs in films like Baazigar, Main Hoon Na, Border and Ishq. Not just as a singer, he as a composer also gave many memorable songs.

He is a seven-time winner from 42 nominations of the best music director, including 14 nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director. In an interview with a leading daily, Anu Malik spoke how he got his first break. Malik said, "My first break came at the age of 16-17 when my father Sardar Malik (composer of films like Thokar, Saranga and Bachpan) was indisposed and actor-producer Mohan Choti asked me to complete the songs of Hunterwali 77 (1978). The first song that I recorded was with Asha Bhosle. My maternal uncle Hasrat Jaipuri wrote the lines Zulmon Sitam Par Itrane Wale, Ek Din Mera Din Ayega. A couple of years before that I tried my hand at composition for my father's production Maano Ya Na Maano, which had Jeetendra and Neetu Singh in the lead but it could not be completed."

He also added, "After Hunterwali went unnoticed, Harmesh Malhotra gave me a break in Poonam but the real start came with F.C. Mehra's Ek Jaan Hain Hum. Coming from a film family didn't help me much and I had to struggle a lot. I knew Umesh Mehra (son of F.C. Mehra) and I used to follow him with my compositions. I had this knack of writing opening lines to my tunes. This helped in making an instant impression. One day he liked a tune and he ensured that his father came to our home. I sang Aasman Pe Likh Doon Naam Tera to him and it clicked."

On his 57th birthday, we thought to take a look at his popular songs:

1. Oonnchi Hai Building