Amaal Mallik has hit back at those he believes have been trying to undermine his music, saying he is not interested in competing over numbers, marketing budgets or manufactured hype. The composer shared two lengthy posts on Instagram in which he defended “Yeh Awarapan”, his song from Awarapan 2, and took aim at unnamed sections of the music and film industry whom he accused of trying to create negativity around his work.

His comments come as Awarapan 2 continues to perform strongly at the box office, while “Yeh Awarapan” has also struck a chord with listeners and become one of the talking points around the film. The Emraan Hashmi-led sequel has emerged as a major success, significantly outperforming the 2007 original, which went on to become a cult film despite its underwhelming theatrical performance.

‘Don’t compare numbers, data and momentum with love’

Amaal Mallik opened his first post with “Khauff Machaaya Ve” and said the past three weeks have been “horrendous.” He said his mother had once warned him against entering the industry, telling him that the music industry was even tougher than the acting industry.

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Rather than judging the song through streams, numbers or its initial momentum, Amaal asked people to consider the work and emotion behind it.

“Don’t compare numbers, data, and momentum with love, sweat, tears, blessings, and a lotta of magic.”

He also took aim at the importance given to promotional campaigns, arguing that lasting musical impact comes from an audience’s emotional connection.

Amaal said, “History doesn’t remember who had the biggest PR campaign – History remembers who received true PYAAAAR.”

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He argued that music is ultimately remembered for the way it changes the sound of an era or allows listeners to reconnect with a particular time in their lives.

 

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A post shared by Amaal Mallik (@amaal_mallik)

 

Amaal Mallik says he deliberately avoided recreating Awarapan’s music

Amaal Mallik also addressed comparisons between “Yeh Awarapan” and the music of the 2007 original, saying he deliberately stayed away from recreating the earlier sound because of how personal Awarapan is to him. He described the new song as a mix of alternative glam rock, Sufi writing and Bollywood melancholy, presented as a conversation between a man and the love of his life who has left this realm.

While he chose not to recreate the original songs, Amaal praised the new versions of “Tera Mera Rishta” and “Toh Phir Aao”, saying they had “a lotta soul.”

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‘Respect isn’t playlisted’

Amaal then pointed to people in the industry whom he believes are trying to create negativity around him through social media. He dismissed what he called the “competitors and HATERS” game and insisted that recognition cannot simply be manufactured.

“PEHCHAAN aur logon ka PYAAR aren’t purchased. LEGACIES aren’t sponsored or handed down with ease. RESPECT isn’t playlisted.”

He also alleged that a paid PR campaign had been run around his song, saying it made him “angry, upset and hysterical.” He did not name the person he believed was behind the alleged campaign.

Calling the period his “most difficult chapter”, Amaal said the attempts to pull down his music had only reinforced his belief in the song.

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‘My songs are my babies, and I’m a dangerous dad’

In his second post, Amaal Mallik directly addressed the music and film industry and said he had never needed marketing budgets to manufacture his identity. He argued that listeners know his music because they have lived their lives through his songs, something he described as a privilege money cannot buy.

Amaal then likened his songs to his children. “MY SONGS are my BABIES, and TRUST me when I say I’m a DANGEROUS DAD.”

He went on to say that “Yeh Awarapan” was created with complete conviction and recalled his father’s reaction to the song, saying he was “blown away” and had tears in his eyes.

Amaal also urged other musicians to focus on original music and build their own legacies rather than measuring themselves against him.

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‘Data is great, but art will always come before the algorithm’

Awarapan was a commercial failure upon0 release but gradually developed a cult following. Its sequel has now performed far better commercially, giving the franchise a very different box-office trajectory. Amaal Mallik pointed to that transformation as proof that success cannot always be judged at one particular moment.

“People can’t seem to wrap their heads around the fact that a SUPER FLOP FILM, A 2007 ORIGINAL became a CULT 20 years later,” he wrote, arguing that soul and self-belief can eventually find their audience.

He then wrote, “Data is GREAT, but ART will always come before the ALGORITHM.”

 

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A post shared by Amaal Mallik (@amaal_mallik)

 

Amaal Mallik says Awarapan 2 did not need corporate bookings

Amaal also pointed to Awarapan 2’s box-office performance as evidence that the film did not need corporate bookings.

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“PS – Did we do CORPORATE BOOKINGS? Naaaah, we didn’t need that,” he wrote.

He went on to say that there was nothing inherently wrong with corporate bookings, but claimed they are widely used to maintain what he called a “false crown.” He compared the practice with artificially buying clicks and views for music videos.

‘They tried to bury us but didn’t realise that we were seeds’

Amaal Mallik ended his second post by thanking both supporters and detractors of “Yeh Awarapan.”

“Thank you for all the LOVE & the HATE that couldn’t do s*** to my legacy or my baby #YehAwarapan. They tried to BURY us but didn’t realise that we were SEEDS,” he wrote.

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Amaal shared the post on his Instagram Story with another message aimed at his detractors, declaring that he is “the King.”

“A long post where I’ve done it again. The lion too has to roar once in a while (in my case a few more times than that) to show these sore losers of the ‘INDUSTRY’ that HE IS THE KING & he never came here to survive. HE WAS BORN TO RULE 🔥.”

Amaal Mallik had earlier alleged that “rival elements” in the film industry were running a “huge paid PR” campaign against “Yeh Awarapan.” He did not name anyone in that post either.