page_title: Vishal Bhardwaj
section_title: Writer and director
hierarchical_section_title: Vishal Bhardwaj / Career / Writer and director
caption_attribution_description: English: vishal bhardwaj
context_page_description: Vishal Bhardwaj is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, music composer and playback singer. He is known for his work in Hindi cinema, and is the recipient of seven National Film Awards in four categories.
  Bhardwaj made his debut as a music composer with the children's film Abhay, and received wider recognition with his compositions in Gulzar's Maachis. He received the Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent for the latter. He went on to compose music for the films Satya and Godmother. For the latter, he garnered the National Film Award for Best Music Direction. Bhardwaj made his directorial debut with the children's film Makdee, for which he also composed the music. He garnered critical acclaim and several accolades for writing and directing the Indian adaptations of three tragedies by William Shakespeare: Maqbool from Macbeth, Omkara from Othello, and Haider from Hamlet. He has also directed the caper thriller Kaminey, the black comedy 7 Khoon Maaf, and the satire Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola.
  In addition, Bhardwaj produces films under his banner VB Pictures.
context_section_description: Bhardwaj made his directorial debut with the horror film Makdee (2002), starring Shabana Azmi, Makarand Deshpande and Shweta Prasad. The film tells the story of twin young girls and an alleged witch in a mansion. It was screened in the Critics' Week (Spotlight on India) section at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival.
  Bhardwaj had read a short version of William Shakespeare's Macbeth and wanted to turn it into a gangster film. He had seen Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood (1957), which was also inspired by Macbeth. It inspired Bhardwaj to make it into a feature film. He then started working with Abbas Tyrewala to adapt the play. Bhardwaj then came up with its film adaptation Maqbool (2003), starring Pankaj Kapur, Irrfan Khan and Tabu; it was set against the backdrop of Mumbai underworld. The film was screened at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival. Sita Menon of Rediff.com in her review called it "..a visual gallery that is an intelligent blend of dark, tragic overtones and comic, satirical undertones." CNN-IBN listed Maqbool as "one of the 100 greatest Indian films of all time" in a 2013 list. In 2010, Film critic Raja Sen mentioned it in "The Top 75 Hindi Films of the Decade" list.
  In 2006, Bhardwaj again adapted Shakespeare's tragedy Othello, as Omkara. Set against the backdrop of the political system in Uttar Pradesh, the film had Ajay Devgan as the titular character. It premiered at the 6th Marrakech International Film Festival, and was screened at the Cairo International Film Festival. At the 54th National Film Awards, Bhardwaj received the Special Jury Award for the film. Omkara met with critical acclaim, but was a box office disappointment. It however opened to positive box-office response in North America and the United Kingdom.
  Bhardwaj's next project was the children's film, The Blue Umbrella (2005), based on Ruskin Bond's novel of the same name. It won the National Film Award for Best Children's Film in 2005. His followup was Blood Brothers (2007), a short-film on HIV/AIDS, with a run time of 13 minutes. It tells the story of a young man who, after finding out that he is HIV positive, allows his life to fall apart. It was a part of the 'AIDS JaaGo', a series of four short films, directed by Mira Nair, Santosh Sivan, and Farhan Akhtar in a joint initiative by Nair and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The series premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival. The same year, he also served as a writer for Sanjay Gupta's anthology film, Dus Kahaniyaan.
  In 2009, Bhardwaj came up with the Caper thriller Kaminey, starring Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra. The film follows the rivalry between identical twins, one with a lisp and one with a stammer. The story was bought by him from a Kenyan writer. It opened to generally positive reviews. Anupama Chopra gave a rating of 4 out of 5 and wrote "Kaminey is the best Bollywood film I've seen this year. It's an audacious, original rollercoaster ride. Written and directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, Kaminey requires patience and attention but the pay off is more than worth it." Kaminey was also a financial success earning over ₹700 million (US$9.8 million) worldwide.
  7 Khoon Maaf (2011), a film based on the Ruskin Bond's short story, Susanna's Seven Husbands, was Bhardwaj's next directorial venture. The story revolves around Susanna Anna-Marie Johannes (played by Priyanka Chopra) who murders her seven husbands in an unending quest for love. The film was written collaboratively by Bhardwaj, Bond and American writer Matthew Robbins. It released on 18 February 2011 and met with mixed to positive reviews. Zee News in its four out of five star review mentioned: "Vishal Bhardwaj does it again. The maverick filmmaker has once again woven magic with his latest blockbuster Saat Khoon Maaf".
  In 2013, Bhardwaj directed Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola, a political satire set in the rustic surroundings of a village in Haryana. It starred Anushka Sharma and Imran Khan in the lead roles, with Pankaj Kapur and Shabana Azmi in supporting ones. Bhardwaj also choreogr
caption: Bhardwaj in 2012
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