Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Ismail Darbar have a ‘Tom and Jerry-like relationship’, says Awez: ‘They have ego clashes’

Awez Darbar said that they get back together, make some music, and fight again, and the same cycle has been going on for a long time.

Ismail Darbar and Sanjay Leela Bhansali had a fallout after Devdas.

Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and music composer Ismail Darbar gained fame together when they worked on Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Their next collaboration, Devdas, was celebrated even more but since then, the two have had a volatile relationship. In a recent interview, Ismail’s son Awez described it as a “Tom and Jerry-like” relationship as they often get back together, but end up fighting again. Awez said that this has been their pattern for many years now.

In a chat with Siddharth Kannan on his podcast, Awez shared, “They have a Tom and Jerry-like relationship. They get mad at each other for the smallest of things, leave the project. I have seen this a lot. For us, it is a lot that, ‘Oh god, you have left a film?’ Our point of view has been stable but they are on a different plane. And then, they get back also. They start talking again. So I have never understood their relationship. In their heart, they respect each other a lot, but there are a ton of ego clashes, as far as I can see.”

When asked if it was because of these ego clashes that Ismail left Heeramandi, Awez said that not just Heeramandi, but Ismail has left many such projects with Bhansali. “Not just Heeramandi, all the films… They get back, they make music and then something happens, and the cycle repeats itself. I don’t know what happens because I have never witnessed it myself,” he said.

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In a recent chat with Vickey Lalwani, Ismail said that he would not work with Bhansali even if he offered him Rs 100 crore. He said, “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 immediately).”

He shared that Bhansali, who is a composer himself, did not like that Ismail was getting appreciation for his music. “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.

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