Ismail Darbar Refuses To Work With Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Even For ₹100 crore: ‘Pehli Fursat Mein Chale Jaa'
Veteran music composer Ismail Darbar has finally spoken out about his strained relationship with filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali , calling him “egoistic” and confirming that he would never collaborate with him again, not even for a whopping ₹100 crore.
Darbar, in an interview with Vickey Lalwani, recalled their time together on Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and how things soured over the years. The turning point came after a media report hailed Darbar’s music as the “backbone” of Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, prompting Bhansali to suspect that Darbar had orchestrated the praise himself.
“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,” Darbar revealed.
Darbar also recounted being sidelined during Guzaarish. “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,” he said, confirming that Bhansali had instructed PR teams to avoid giving him interviews.
Asked if reconciliation was possible, Darbar was firm: “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).”
Their fallout isn’t entirely new. Back in 2005, Darbar chose Subhash Ghai’s Kisna over Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani, but they reportedly patched things up in 2014. At the time, Darbar had called Bhansali his 'godfather' in music, saying creative differences had never been personal. “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 revealed. But this latest revelation suggests the rift has now reached an irreparable point.
For fans of Bollywood music, it’s a clear message: some creative partnerships, no matter how legendary, simply can’t be forced.
Darbar, in an interview with Vickey Lalwani, recalled their time together on Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and how things soured over the years. The turning point came after a media report hailed Darbar’s music as the “backbone” of Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, prompting Bhansali to suspect that Darbar had orchestrated the praise himself.
“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,” Darbar revealed.
Darbar also recounted being sidelined during Guzaarish. “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,” he said, confirming that Bhansali had instructed PR teams to avoid giving him interviews.
Asked if reconciliation was possible, Darbar was firm: “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).”
Their fallout isn’t entirely new. Back in 2005, Darbar chose Subhash Ghai’s Kisna over Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani, but they reportedly patched things up in 2014. At the time, Darbar had called Bhansali his 'godfather' in music, saying creative differences had never been personal. “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 revealed. But this latest revelation suggests the rift has now reached an irreparable point.
For fans of Bollywood music, it’s a clear message: some creative partnerships, no matter how legendary, simply can’t be forced.
Next Story