Vishal Bhardwaj

Vishal Bhardwaj (born 4 August 1965) 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 (The Fearless) (1995), and received wider recognition with his compositions in Gulzar's Maachis (1996). He received the Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent for the latter. He went on to compose music for the films Satya (1998) and Godmother (1999). For the latter, he garnered the National Film Award for Best Music Direction. Bhardwaj made his directorial debut with the children's film Makdee (2002), 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 (2003) from Macbeth, Omkara (2006) from Othello, and Haider (2014) from Hamlet. He has also directed the action film Kaminey, the black comedy 7 Khoon Maaf (2011), and the satire Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola (2013).

In 1995, Bhardwaj made his debut as a music composer for the children's film Abhay (The Fearless). He then went on to compose music for Fauji (1995), and Sanshodhan (1996). In 1996, he served as the music director for Gulzar's Maachis (1996), for which he received the Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent. The film depicted the transformation of boys into terrorists during the Punjab insurgency in Punjab in the 1980s. The soundtrack composed by Bhardwaj became an anthem for the politically restive college youth at that time. He later collaborated with him on TV serials such as Alice in Wonderland and Gubbare. His further projects included Betaabi (1997), Tunnu Ki Tina (1997), Satya (1998) and Hu Tu Tu (1999). At the 46th National Film Awards, Bhardwaj received the National Film Award for Best Music Direction for his critically acclaimed score in Godmother (1999). In 2010, he composed the music for his production venture Ishqiya, which garnered him his second National Film Award for Best Music Direction. He also composed music for Jungle Book Shōnen Mowgli, the Hindi dubbed version of the anime adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's original collection of stories, The Jungle Book. Apart from feature films, Bhardwaj has provided music for music albums such as Sunset Point (2000), Ishqa Ishqa (2002) and Barse Barse (2011). He frequently collaborates with Gulzar.