Music composer Amaal Mallik, who has garnered acclaim in the Bollywood industry with hit numbers like "Main hoon hero tera" and "Wedding da season", says that his female fans now refer themselves as "Amaalians" on social media.
"I have been hearing from people that everyone is loving my music, which is a great feeling. To be honest, it's overwhelming... The female following on Twitter is insane... They call themselves 'Amaalians'," Amaal told IANS.
"It's wonderful to see that my music has reached out and connected to so many people," he added.
With a slew of popular awards ratifying his growing popularity, Amaal is perched at a respectable place in the industry.
But he hasn't found success overnight.
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"It has not been easy and nothing has come quickly. I have been an assistant for 10 years now... I did ads to earn my bread and butter, television title tracks, background scores, assisted Salim-Sulaiman, Amar Mohile, Pritam, Sandeep Chowta... And then after 20-30 odd films, almost a 100 jingles, and few songs later, I got a break," he said.
The break was a blockbuster, courtesy superstar Salman Khan.
"Salman Khan gave me three songs in 'Jai Ho' and put me right on the map. Then (T-Series head honcho) Bhushan Kumar also saw potential in me and gave me a break again with 'Roy', which was my rebirth!" he wrote.
Amaal, who is veteran composer Anu Malik's nephew, has also seen his father, composer Daboo Malik, struggle to make ends meet.
"Success is good, but I have seen the other side. I don't think much about it. I just work towards making a good melody, with catchy yet meaningful lyrics, and as I'm a music producer and arranger myself, I know the sound I need... It's all in my head," Amaal said.
Amaal and his brother Armaan, known for crooning songs like "Wajah tum ho" and "Rom rom romantic", were trained from music from childhood.
"We worked day and night for it and our young teenage years went into preparing for today and the future. My parents were very far-sighted... They just enrolled my brother and I into music class and that's when music took over our lives. We shut everything and everyone else except music out of our lives," he recalled.
Amaal says that he is gives a "lot of importance to tune and lyrics" and wants to make his listeners happy with his music.
"My songs have a certain feel-good vibe to them, even the sad melodies. So I guess that brings a smile on everyone's face," he said.
"I work really hard with my lyric writers to get out the best. Kumaar is a rebellious genius, Manoj is a poet and Virag is like a breath of fresh air. My team of music producers work on every song along with me," he added.
The composer says he makes all his family and friends listen to his songs as "everyone's opinion matters."
Asked about his future plans, Amaal said: "I never plan because plans don't materialize...I have been wanting to take a break and leave the city to go and relax and take a week off, but it hasn't yet happened. My plan this year is to work harder and deliver better work with every film."