Remember the always serious judge of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge? Yes, we are talking of Ismail Darbar. His unhappiness with the unfair treatment meted out to the contestants of his gharana and his decision to leave the show mid-way when one of his students, Nihira, was voted out, created big headlines and controversy not long time back.

This year in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2007, Darbar is hopeful of creating a splash yet again. Recently at a function, he casually remarked, 'This year, the response to the show is double. The number of aspirants for auditions has also increased surprisingly."

Asked about his expectations this year considering that his student Debojit was the champ last time, he said, "This time we judges will be selecting the contestants on our own for our respective gharanas."

Seems, the Sangeet ka Pratham Vishwayudh will be tougher this time! - (SAMPURN)