Vishal Bhardwaj

Vishal Bhardwaj (born August 4, 1965, Chandpur, Uttar Pradesh, India) is an Indian director, producer, and composer who is known for his critically acclaimed work in Bollywood, notably a trilogy of adaptations of William Shakespeare’s plays. He has won nine National Film Awards in various categories and is regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers in contemporary Indian cinema.

Early career

Vishal Bhardwaj went to school in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, and progressed to Hindu College, affiliated with the University of Delhi, sometime in the 1980s. His early ambition was to be a sportsman, having played cricket for the Uttar Pradesh team. However, he abandoned his dream after breaking his thumb before an intercollegiate cricket tournament about 1984 and the death of his father later that same year. He shifted focus to music and recorded a song while still in college. His early work as a composer includes the hugely popular “Jungle Jungle Baat Chali Hai,” which was the title song of the Hindi dub of popular Japanese animated TV series The Jungle Book: The Adventures of Mowgli (1989–90), and the soundtracks of the films Wahem (1987; “Misconception”) and Abhay (1995; “Fearless”).

A period of financial struggle followed, and Bhardwaj’s first real success as a composer was the 1996 film Maachis (“Matches”), directed by Gulzar. He continued composing for films such as Chachi 420 (1997; “Aunty 420”), Gulzar’s Hu Tu Tu (1999), Godmother (1999), and Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega (2001; “Will Do Anything for Love”). On Gulzar’s advice Bhardwaj turned to directing, making his debut with Makdee (2002; “Spider”), a children’s film about a witch that he also wrote, scored, and coproduced, setting the template for his future films—he has worn several hats on most movies he has made since.

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The Shakespeare trilogy

Maqbool (2003)

Bhardwaj’s reputation as a filmmaker was established with the release of the second film he directed: Maqbool, a Hindi adaptation of Macbeth and the first in Bhardwaj’s Shakespeare trilogy. Maqbool is set in the criminal underbelly of Mumbai and centers on the eponymous Maqbool (played by Irrfan Khan), who colludes with his lover, Nimmi (played by Tabu), to murder underworld don Abbaji (played by Pankaj Kapur), Nimmi’s husband and Maqbool’s boss. Two corrupt policemen (played by Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri) function as the Weird Sisters. Maqbool received glowing praise. Kapur won the National Film Award for best supporting actor as well as a critics prize at the Filmfare Awards, and several cast members went on to collaborate frequently with Bhardwaj.

Other films

Shahid Kapoor had already worked with Bhardwaj before Haider, playing the dual role of speech-impaired twins, Guddu and Charlie, in the crime drama Kaminey (2009; “Scoundrels”). Priyanka Chopra was cast as Sweety, Guddu’s girlfriend in Kaminey. She played the lead role of femme fatale Susanna, who kills a series of wayward husbands in Bhardwaj’s 7 Khoon Maaf (2011; “Seven Murders Forgiven”), also starring Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Usha Uthup, Neil Nitin Mukesh, and John Abraham.

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Pankaj Kapur returned to play frequently drunk businessman Harry Mandola in Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola (2013; “Matru’s Bijlee’s Mandola”), with Anushka Sharma as his daughter, Bijlee, and Imran Khan as the idealistic Matru who wins Bijlee’s heart. Rangoon (2017), set during World War II, features Shahid Kapoor as Nawab Malik, a soldier in Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army; Saif Ali Khan as Rusi Billimoria, a film producer; and Kangana Ranaut as Julia, an actress who is romantically involved with Billimoria and falls in love with Malik. Bhardwaj and Kapoor reunited for O’Romeo (2026).

Vishal Bhardwaj’s career as a producer developed in parallel to his achievements in composing and directing. In addition to producing most of the films he directed, he has also produced those directed by others, such as Ishqiya (2010; “Passionate”) and its sequel Dedh Ishqiya (2014; “One and a Half Passionate”), both directed by Abhishek Chaubey and starring Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi; the female leads were played by Vidya Balan (Ishqiya) and Madhuri Dixit (Dedh Ishqiya).

Streaming projects

Bhardwaj made his streaming debut in 2023 with the detective series Charlie Chopra & the Mystery of Solang Valley, an adaptation of Agatha Christie’s The Sittaford Mystery (1931). Set in snowy Himachal Pradesh, the series stars Wamiqa Gabbi as the detective Charlie Chopra, who must clear her fiancé of a murder charge. The cast includes Naseeruddin Shah along with his family of actors: wife Ratna Pathak Shah, sons Vivaan and Imaad Shah, and daughter Heeba Shah. Neena Gupta, Gulshan Grover, and Lara Dutta play pivotal roles. Gabbi and Tabu also appear in Bhardwaj’s next film, the Netflix spy thriller Khufiya (2023; “Secret”).

Musical career

Bhardwaj’s films are invariably scored by him and the soundtracks boast many hit songs. Among these are “Beedi Jalaile” and “Namak” from Omkara, “Dhan Ta Nan” from Kaminey, and “Darling” from 7 Khoon Maaf. Bhardwaj has won National Film Awards for best music direction for films such as Godmother, Ishqiya, and Haider. His wife, singer Rekha Bhardwaj, has often collaborated on his musical work and has sung “Namak” and other songs. Bhardwaj is a singer himself, with songs such as “O Saathi Re” from Omkara to his credit.