All through the morning he has been busy recording a youthful version of the timeless melody Jab Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya for his new film Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam, that will be picturised around Mallika Sherawat. This siren may evoke male fantasies, but for Malek the mere mention of her name unleashes all paternal instincts. Not for Sherawat though, but for his 17-year-old daughter Anmol, who has done playback for the actor in the upcoming Ugly Aur Pagly.

“Apart from Maan Gaye, I am also composing the tunes of Ugly. Anmol is lending her voice to a track in this film for Mallika,” he says, excitedly. “Anmol has sung earlier in Umrao Jaan for the younger Aishwarya (Rai). But this is the first time she is doing proper playback. My younger daughter Ada too is ready for playback singing.”

I probe him about Indian Idol, where his judgements were not always sugar-coated. But the doting dad is in a mood to gush about his darling daughter, and in no time digresses back to his favourite topic. “I am equally tough with my children. I am very strict with Anmol at the time of recording and that gets the best out of her,” says Malek.

The music director, who has given many superhit tracks, right from Baazigar and Border to Main Hoon Na and Kalyug, witnessed a lull of late, with movies like Jaan-e-Mann and Umrao Jaan failing at box office. However, at present Malek has his hands full with films like the Ajay Devgan-starrer animated Toonpur Ki Superhero and Mission Istanbul, and he finds enough reason to be optimistic. “Umrao and Jaan-e-Mann may not have done well, but their music was appreciated,” he says.

As we relax over watermelon juice, Jiah Khan walks in with her mother. The polite gentleman does not forget to wish luck to the young heroine, as they introduce themselves to Malek. He even spares me the trouble of asking questions that may have touched the borderline of being unpleasant and chooses to clarify charges of plagiarism. “People have now woken up to the fact that my songs are original. What can you say about the songs of Border, Fiza, Refugee and Main Hoon Na? There is a website that even says that I am the most original composer of the decade. People call me tunemaster,” says the 45-year-old. “When I started off in the industry it was ruled by the likes of R D Burman and Laxmikant-Pyarelal. Yet I have been the survivor.”

In many ways, Malek defies the ways of Bollywood—not only he is punctual, he refuses to take any phone calls while he is being interviewed. He even steps out of the restaurant with us in search of a better frame for his photograph. “I know how to balance my time between recording and judging reality shows. I concentrate on what I do. Right now it’s the interview that’s my main concern,” he says with utter seriousness.