During an interview with Vickey Lalwani, Darbar discussed his past collaboration with Bhansali on “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.”
Published: 星期三,10月 08, 2025 02:23 上午 GMT+05:30
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Music composer Ismail Darbar has opened up about his strained relationship with filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, labeling him as “egoistic.” Darbar stated he would refuse to collaborate with Bhansali again, regardless of a ?100 crore offer, highlighting the depth of their disagreement and the end of their professional relationship.
During an interview with Vickey Lalwani, Darbar discussed his past collaboration with Bhansali on “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.” The working relationship deteriorated after a media article lauded Darbar’s music in “Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar” as its “backbone.” Bhansali reportedly suspected Darbar of orchestrating the article, causing a significant rift.
Spilling beans on his rift with Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Darbar recounted, I said, ‘Look, if I have to break the news, I won’t be scared of you; I’ll say it outright that yes, I said it…’ I still don’t know who that man was, but he put that news out and Sanjay found out. He called me into his office and asked, ‘Ismail, how could you say that?’ After that he said, ‘Alright, let it go.’ After that I understood that ‘let it go’ really meant that sooner or later he would put me in a position where I would leave Heeramandi myself. I left before that could happen.
He was asked whether Bhansali tried to call him back. To this, Darbar shared, Why would he? He understood – when the backbone is Ismail Darbar: I was the backbone in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam… I was the backbone in Devdas too. I’m not the one saying this – his PR said it, it was on the front pages. So I had seen his ego. Fear had crept in that I work so hard and he takes the credit.
Ismail’s future collaborations
Darbar also revealed that a planned collaboration on “Guzaarish” was canceled due to existing tensions from “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam,” which had intensified during “Devdas.” He further alleged that Bhansali instructed PR teams to avoid his interviews, suggesting a deliberate effort to distance himself.
Darbar stated that, as of now, his relationship with Bhansali is completely severed, adding, Today, if Sanjay comes and says to me, ‘Please do the music for my film, I’ll give you ?100 crore,’ I’ll tell him, ‘Pehli fursat mein chale jaa yahan se.’ (Please leave now).
History of their rift
In 2014, it was reported that Bhansali and Darbar reconciled after Darbar chose Subhash Ghai’s Kisna over Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani in 2005. Sanjay is my godfather. When no one could understand my music, he was the one who did. All issues have been resolved, but they might return whenever we work together … our differences are purely on a creative level and not personal, he said. However, the situation has seemingly deteriorated since then. Darbar previously collaborated with Bhansali on “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam” and “Devdas.”
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Music composer Ismail Darbar has opened up about his strained relationship with filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, labeling him as “egoistic.” Darbar stated he would refuse to collaborate with Bhansali again, regardless of a ?100 crore offer, highlighting the depth of their disagreement and the end of their professional relationship. During an interview with Vickey Lalwani, Darbar discussed his past collaboration with Bhansali on “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.”