Ismail Darbar Wiki, Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Ismail Darbar is an Indian film music composer, musician, singer, and music director. In 1999, he received the National Award for the Hindi film ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.’

Wiki/Biography

Ismail Darbar was born on Monday, 1 June 1964 (age 59 years; as of 2023) in Surat, Gujarat. His zodiac sign is Gemini. He is a class 7 dropout from the Savar Cantonment Public School and College, Savar, Bangladesh. ^[1]YouTube – Devang Bhatt

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 8″

Hair Colour: Salt & Pepper (dyed black)

Eye Colour: Black

Family

Parents & Siblings

His father, Janab Ahmed Darbar, was a musician and used to play saxophone. His mother’s name is Jaitunbibi Darbar.

Wife & Children

He was earlier married to the Farzana Shaikh. He has two daughters named Moonzarin Darbar and Anam Darbar (a social media influencer) and two sons named Zaid Darbar (dancer, choreographer) and Awez Darbar (dancer, choreographer) with Farzana. On 18 August 2005, he got married to the Indian singer Ayesha I. Darbar. With Ayesha, he has a son named Imaan Darbar.

Religion

Ismail Darbar follows Islam. ^[2]Instagram – Ismail Darbar

Career

Musician

He started his career as a violinist for various popular Indian music directors like Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Kalyanji-Anandji, Anand–Milind, Nadeem–Shravan, Jatin–Lalit, and A. R. Rahman. He worked as a violinist in the Hindi film ‘Khamoshi: The Musical’ (1996).

Music Director

Hindi

In 1999, he made his debut as a music director with the Hindi film ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.’ He received critical acclaim for his music in the film. He then worked in various Hindi films as a music director such as ‘Devdas’ (2002), ‘Kisna: The Warrior Poet’ (2005), ‘Kaanchi’ (2013), and ‘Gurudakshina’ (2014).

Other Languages

In 2003, he made his Telugu debut as a music director with the film ‘Vishnu.’ He has also worked as a music director in the Kannada film ‘Santheyalli Nintha Kabira’ in 2016.

TV

He was among one of the judges on the reality TV singing show ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge’ in 2005 and 2007. The show was aired on Zee TV.

He also judged the reality TV singing shows Amul Star Voice of India 2 (2008; Star Plus), Bharat Ki Shaan: Singing Star – Season 2 (2019;  DD National), and The War of Talent (2021; MX Player).

In 2013, he directed music for the Star Plus mythological series ‘Mahabharat.’ He participated as a contestant in the Colors reality TV show ‘Bigg Boss Season 3’ (2009).

Other Work

He has also appeared in a few Hindi music videos like Rasiya Saajan (2007) and I Bow to thee O Mother (2020).

On 18 December 2009, he started a printing and publishing company named Darbar Dreams Production Private Limited (DDPPL), Mumbai. In 2011, various media sources shared that he joined the BJP in Gujarat. However, when Darbar was asked about joining politics, he said that the reports were incorrect. He had not joined any political party but wished to join the BJP in Gujarat. His forefathers were from Surat, and he wanted to do something for the people of Surat. He said that the BJP was the only party that was doing good work in Gujarat. In 2018, he made his debut as a director with the Hindi film ‘Yeh Kaisa Tigdam.’

Controversies

Tiff with A.R. Rahman

In 2011, Ismail Darbar accused the Indian music director A. R. Rahman of buying the Oscar Award. Ismail publicly said that Rahman’s Oscar for Best Original Score for the film “Slumdog Millionaire” was not deserved and had been bought by him. In an interview, Ismail said,

Kaam ke saath beimaani toh mat karo yaar. Agar maine bola hai, toh bola hai. Jab se maine Rahman ka PR dekha aur music se door usse paaya, tab se mujhe usse chidd aagayi. Pehle main usse chahta tha kyunki lagta tha iss aadmi mein kuch baat hai, alag sochta hai. Lekin jab maalum pada ke yeh PR mein laga pada hai, ke kaise Oscar milna chahiye kaise Grammy milna chahiye, uske alawa usse aur kuch samajh nahi aa raha hai. Aur aap dekhiye uska kaam gadbad ho raha hai.”

Which means,

I said what I said. When I noticed that Rahman was spending more time on PR than on his craft, I began to get annoyed by him. I used to like him initially, I thought that he was unique. But when I saw that he was only scheming about how to win Oscars and make waves abroad, I noticed that his work was suffering).”

Later, he changed his statement and said that Rahman was a friend to him. He even apologised for his comments. Whereas Rahman denied all such allegations and even shared that he would not file any case against Ismail. ^[3]The Indian Express

Assaulted Assistant Music Director

On 2 February 2015, Ismail Darbar, along with his son Zaid Darbar and two others, was arrested in Mumbai. They were accused of physically assaulting an assistant director named Prashamit Chaudhury. It was said that Chaudhury’s request for his overdue salary was refused by Darbar, which resulted in violence with Prashamit. According to the Amboli police, Darbar, his son Zaid, and two others Nishant Singh and Mohsin Khan were among the accused. Chaudhary was working as an assistant director on a film which was being directed by Darbar. In the FIR Chaudhary said that four individuals arrived at his house on New Link Road. They used hockey sticks to attack him, and this incident occurred near the parking area. Chaudhary said that he was trying to reach out to Darbar regarding his unpaid salary, but Ismail was not attending his calls. ^[4]The Times of India In an interview Chaudhary said,

First, Zaid came to my house and asked me to come with him, claiming that the money was in the car. I went with him, accompanied by a friend. In the parking lot, Darbar and some other men began assaulting me with hockey sticks.”

Awards & Honours

• 1999: RD Burman Award for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam

• 2000: National Film Award for Best Music Direction for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam

• 2002: Screen Award for Best Music Director for Devdas

• 2019: India’s Greatest Brands & Leaders Award
  

  Ismail Darbar with India’s Greatest Brands & Leaders Award

• 2021: Worlds Amazing Talent
  

  Ismail Darbar receiving a certificate from the World Talent Organization

• 2021: Panache Image Award
  

  Ismail Darbar with his award

Bike Collection

Favourites

• Film Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

• Singer: Lata Mangeshkar

Facts/Trivia

• In his childhood, his father told him that he would need to stop playing games and give his time to practise music. However, he was interested in playing games with his friends, and he had no interest in studying. So, after he dropped out of school, he moved to Mumbai along with his father. At the age of 13, he began his training in acting and music under the guidance of Ram Prasad Sharma, who was the father of Laxmikant Pyarelal. For around 12 years, he trained under him.

• In 2002, after the release of the Hindi film ‘Devdas,’ he had a tiff with the Indian film director Sanjay Leela Bhansali.  Reportedly, their difference of opinion and ego clash resulted in their fight. They even stopped working with each other. However, a few years later, they sorted out their differences. ^[5]The Times of India
  

  An old picture of Ismail Darbar and Sanjay Leela Bhansali

• In her leisure time, he loves to travel to different places.
  

  Ismail Darbar during a vacation

• He follows a non-vegetarian diet. ^[6]Instagram – Ismail Darbar