Music composer Ismail Darbar recently opened up about his daughter-in-law Gauahar Khan, praising her as a “wonderful mother” but expressing reservations about her continuing her acting career after marriage and motherhood.
In a conversation with Vickey Lalwani, Darbar said he hasn’t watched Gauahar’s work because he fears he might not approve of it. “If I don’t like what I see, I’ll have to confront her. I come from a background where we would turn our eyes away whenever a sensuous scene appeared in a movie — that’s still how our family is,” he explained. “Gauahar is part of our family now, and we are responsible for her reputation.”
While clarifying that he has no authority over Gauahar’s professional choices, Darbar said that his son Zaid does. “I can’t tell her not to work — that right only Zaid has,” he said. “So I avoid watching anything that might disturb me.”
Darbar also compared Gauahar’s situation to that of his second wife, Ayesha, who he said gave up a flourishing singing career to focus on family life. “Ayesha was earning ₹5 lakh a month through shows and had acting offers too. But she gave it all up for our child. Even when I was in financial trouble, she didn’t offer to earn for us,” he recalled.
Gauahar Khan married Zaid Darbar in 2020. The couple has two sons — their first child, Zehaan, was born in 2023, and they welcomed their second baby earlier this year. Ismail’s elder son, Awez Darbar, recently participated in Bigg Boss 19, where he proposed to longtime partner Nagma Mirajkar before both were eliminated from the show.
