Vishal Bhardwaj is an well-known Indian Director, Producer, and Writer. He was born on 4th August, 1965, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Vishal works primarily in the field of Hindi films. His films have received much critical acclaim, especially his adaptations of Shakespeare Maqbool (Macbeth), Omkara (Othello), and Haider (Hamlet).
Vishal has won multiple National Film Awards in different categories: Best Music Direction: Godmother (1999), Ishqiya (2010), Haider (2014), Best Children Film: The Blue Umbrella; Best Screenplay (Dialogues): Haider, and Best Screenplay: Talwar (2015).
He also won the National Film Award – Special Jury Award for Omkara (2006). Bhardwaj’s debut as a film composer was with the 1995 children’s film Abhay (The Fearless), before receiving wider acclaim with Gulzar’s Maachis (1996). For the latter, he received the Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent.
Later, he composed music for Satya (1998) and Godmother (1999). As a result of the latter, he won the National Film Award for Best Music Direction.
His directorial debut took place with the children’s film Makdee (2002), for which he also composed the music. Writing and directing three plays by William Shakespeare, Maqbool (2003) from Macbeth, Omkara (2006) from Othello, and Haider (2014) from Hamlet, he received critical praise and several accolades. Additionally, he directed the action film Kaminey, the black comedy 7 Khoon Maaf (2011), and the satire Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola (2013).
In addition, Bhardwaj produces films under his banner VB Pictures. He has co-written and produced the films Ishqiya (2010), its sequel Dedh Ishqiya (2014), and the crime drama Talvar (2015), among others.
He has composed the musical score for each of his directorial and production ventures and frequently collaborates with the lyricist Gulzar. He is married to playback singer Rekha Bhardwaj.
Vishal’s mother Satya Bhardwaj was a homemaker, and their father Ram Bhardwaj was a sugarcane inspector. His father also wrote poetry and lyrics for Hindi films. Bhardwaj had an elder brother, who died of a heart attack after struggling for years to become a film producer in Mumbai.
Bhardwaj is married to renowned playback singer Rekha Bhardwaj, whom he met while pursuing a degree in Arts at Hindu College, New Delhi.