Ismail Darbar reacts to online criticism

Music director Ismail Darbar, who recently made disparaging comments against A R Rahman, has become the target of Indian netizens.
The latest joke doing the rounds is his Wikipedia page that has been re-written in an unflattering manner. Darbar, however, is unfazed and says he will continue to stand by his comments
Music director Ismail Darbar has been making waves all the wrong reasons lately. His recent comments about A R Rahman having bought the Oscars as well as the National Awards have been met with strong reactions from industry-wallahs as well as the general public. The online junta, especially, has been unsparing in their criticism (one blog post, for example, does a Munnabhai and advises Darbar to "get well soon").
Now, in what seems like a case of cyber-revenge (or cyber-vigilante justice, if you will), Ismail Darbar's Wikipedia page has been re-written by online pranksters in an unflattering manner. This first came to light on Thursday, when users on Twitter gleefully started sharing the Wikipedia link.
The entry, which has been re-edited several times over the past 24 hours, is caustic, sarcastic and poorly written. It speaks about his "attitude problems" and how director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, not Darbar, had composed the music for the former's films Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas. Earlier versions of the article also speak about how "his family is considering sending him to a mental asylum" and how he is trying to get publicity for his upcoming directorial debut "Romeo and Juliet" (the film is actually titled Romeo Juliet).
When asked about the Wikipedia page, Darbar laughed and said, "I don't really care about this. I'm not technology-savvy at all; I don't even know how to switch on a computer. Therefore, what people say about me online is of little consequence to me." When asked if he felt hurt, he replied, "It's a free country. Just as I have the right to criticise Rahman, the public has the right to criticise me. All I ask is that people evaluate me by the quality of my work, not by how good my PR skills are."
However, Darbar reiterated that he stands behind the statements he has made. "Half the industry is aware of the truth — that 'Jai Ho' was composed by somebody else, not Rahman. But no one will speak up, not even the composer who deserves the credit." He refused to reveal the identity of this composer, saying, "This person does not want to spoil his professional relations with Rahman and the rest of the industry, which is understandable."
He also added that he finds it strange that this issue is being discussed now. "I had said this out loud two years ago, when Rahman won the Oscar, to a TV reporter in Surat. For some weird reason, it didn't become an issue then, which is something I don't understand." When asked about the details of the TV channel or the reporter, he replied with a laugh, "Arre mere bhai, if I'd been this good with names and doing PR in the first place I wouldn't have been in the position I am in right now."
Darbar insists that he still considers A R Rahman his 'guru' and bears him no ill-will. "I am not jealous of Rahman. It's just that I poured my blood, sweat and tears into Devdas; I rejected offers and nearly ruined myself into doing the music for that movie. At the end of it all, I believe the effort was worth it. Not only I, but several people in the industry believe I should've won the National Award for it because even a layman can say that the music of Devdas is better than that of Saathiya, for which Rahman won the award."
Ismail'sgaffe
A R Rahman did indeed win the National Award for Best Music Direction in 2002 — the same year as Devdas — only it was for the Tamil film Kannathil Muthamittal, starring R Madhavan and Nandita Das, not Saathiya. We pointed this out to Darbar and he seemed slightly taken aback at first before replying, "It's doesn't matter. My point is that I should've won for the music of Devdas. After all, Shreya Ghoshal won the award that year for Best Female Singer for 'Bairi Piya'. As her music director, it's only logical that I should've been honoured as well."