Mid-Day

Mumbai, Jan 28: Sardar Malik, famed musician and the father of music director Anu Malik, passed away at Arogya Nidhi Hospital Friday night, after a prolonged illness.

He is survived by three sons, Dabboo, Abu and Anu, and their families. Eighty-one year old Malik showed symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in the past year, his family said, but he was otherwise healthy.

The funeral was held at the Santacruz crematorium at 11 am on Saturday. The last rites were according to the Muslim tradition.
 
‘‘We had been trying to save him for a long time,’’ said son Abu (43). ‘‘He was physically fit; I think his mind gave up on him eventually.’’

A very successful musician of the black and white era in Hindi films, Malik was pushed to the background as the modern strains took over.

But he worked till the end. He was working on a classical music project, Drums of Bombay, from his modest one-bedroom home inJuhu.

There were very few visitors to the Malik home overnight. Among those who did meet the Malik family were Javed Akhtar, Sonu Nigam and Abhijeet.

Sardar Malik was presented the Dadasaheb Phalke award last year. He composed music for more than 600 songs and was the first Indian musician to write the scores for Pakistani singers.

He also holds the distinction of being the first Indian to release a record in Pakistan before 1947.