Ismail Darbar Says He Won’t Work With Bhansali Even For Rs 100 Cr: ‘Pehli Fursat Mein Chale Jaa’

Music composer Ismail Darbar, who created some of the most iconic soundtracks in Hindi cinema with Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas, has opened up about his long-standing professional equation with filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali. In an interview with Vickey Lalwani, Darbar reflected on their collaborations, his fearless attitude during creative discussions, and why their working relationship eventually hit a rough patch during Heeramandi.

Darbar revealed that his dynamic with Bhansali was unique from the very beginning. While working on Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, he was never the kind of composer to meekly agree with the director’s vision if it didn’t align with his own. “I was always very clear about what I liked and how I wanted things to sound.

If there was something Sanjay suggested that I didn’t agree with, I would say it upfront,” he said.

He explained that their creative process involved healthy disagreements, with him often rejecting suggestions he didn’t believe in. Years later, the two reunited for Bhansali’s ambitious web series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. Darbar revealed that he worked on the project for nearly a year and a half, pouring his heart into the music.

However, things took an unexpected turn after a media article described his contribution as the “backbone” of Heeramandi. The report stated that while the show boasted several stars, it was Ismail Darbar’s music that would ultimately be its strongest element. Bhansali reportedly came across the piece and assumed that Darbar had planted the story himself, which created a rift between them.

“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,” Ismail recalled.

When asked Bhansali didn’t try to call him back, Ismail said, “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 also said that he watched Heeramandi but didn’t like it. “It wasn’t because my music wasn’t in it. One thing I will say: if I had done the music for this Heeramandi, I would have made it immortal. What I had prepared, Sanjay wouldn’t even have been able to reach that level — this I know.’”

Ismail also said that he was about to collaborate with Bhansali in Guzaarish, but after the arguments they had during Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, things worsened during Devdas. He added that Sanjay even instructed PR teams not to take Ismail’s interviews.

Ismail said that as of today, he and Bhansali have had a 100% fallout. “Today, if Sanjay comes and says to me, ‘Please do the music for my film, I’ll give you Rs 100 crore,’ I’ll tell him, ‘Pehli fursat mein chale jaa yahan se.’”