Singer Amaal Mallik Defends Violent Movies and Questions Popular Songs Amid Social Media Debate

Singer and music composer Amaal Mallik has defended films that show violence, joining filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga in the ongoing debate over the rise of violent content in cinema. The debate on social media follows an incident in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district where a 15-year-old student and another person were injured in a chainsaw attack. Several social media users questioned whether recent A-rated films with heavy bloodshed and gore play a key role in normalising such violence, drawing a sharp response from directors Ram Gopal Varma and Sandeep Reddy Vanga.

Mallik's Stand

Amaal Mallik reposted Vanga's tweet on X and later shared a detailed post arguing that cinema alone cannot be blamed for a person's actions. He stated that family values, upbringing, state political climates, and individual thinking patterns all matter. He condemned the Andhra Pradesh attack as horrifying and completely wrong, while adding that people should not assume a single film, song, or filmmaker caused it. He mentioned that he has enjoyed films like Animal, Kabir Singh, Dhurandhar, and KGF despite having problems with certain scenes, noting that a film is merely a story and viewers do not have to copy everything they see.

Songs and Rap Music

Mallik argued that critics should be fair and question popular songs as well if they criticise films. He asked why tracks like Beedi Jalaile, Chikni Chameli, Munni Badnaam, Pink Lips, Kar Gayi Chull, and Rom Rom Romantic are celebrated and used on reality shows. He also pointed out that many songs and content pieces outside of movies, particularly rap music on YouTube and Instagram from the northern belt, focus on murder, power, aggression, and refer to women inappropriately, with parents often playing these tracks around children.

Background and Career

Amaal is the son of composer Daboo Malik and the nephew of Anu Malik. He debuted as a composer with Salman Khan's film Jai Ho in 2014 and gained fame with Sooraj Dooba Hai from Roy in 2015. He has since worked on soundtracks for films such as Hero, Airlift, Kapoor and Sons, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, Kabir Singh, and Vedaa, and recently announced a one-year break from film music.

Context

Debates over the societal impact of cinematic violence often resurface following real-world violent crimes, drawing varied opinions from artists and public figures. The discussion typically contrasts the artistic freedom of filmmakers with concerns regarding the influence of media on impressionable audiences.