He gave up cricket for music and became a 9-time National Award winner

Vishal Bhardwaj is a man of many talents. One of the few filmmakers who has shown their versatility in films and music equally, Vishal will always be remembered for giving several gems to Indian cinema. But very few people know that the 9-time National Award winner wanted to be a cricketer. 

Yes! Born in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, Vishal Bharadwaj always dreamt of becoming a cricketer.

While living in Meerut, he has also played Under-19 cricket at the state level. But fate had decided the path of the world of cinema for him, as an accident changed everything. Just before a tournament, during a practice session, his thumb bone broke, due to which he could not play cricket further. After this, Vishal focused completely on studies and then the path opened towards music and direction.

Vishal’s father introduced him to the world of music

Vishal Bhardwaj learned music on his father’s advice. At the age of just 17, Vishal composed music for a song, after listening to which, his father talked to composer Usha Khanna about it. Usha Khanna took that music in the film ‘Yaar Kasam’ (1985). After finishing his work, Vishal came back to Delhi and completed his graduation. In the initial phase, the filmmaker also worked in a music recording company and during that time, he met Gulzar in Delhi. With him, Vishal recorded the song ‘Chaddi pehen ke phool khila hai’.

Vishal Bhardwaj debuted as a composer in 1995 with the film ‘Abhay’. He got recognition from Gulzar’s film ‘Maachis’ (1996), in which Vishal gave music and was awarded the Filmfare RD Burman Award. Later, he also gave music to ‘Satya’, released in the year 1998 and Gulzar’s film ‘Hoo Tu Tu’ in 1999. 

In 1999, he was honoured with the National Award for Best Music Director for the film ‘Godmother’. For those who don’t know, Vishal Bharadwaj has composed the music for several films like Chachi 420, Das Kahaaniyan, Saat Khoon Maaf, Sonchiriya, Darlings and Khufiya.

When the art of direction took over

Vishal Bhardwaj entered the field of direction in 2002 with the children’s film ‘Makdi’. He has given amazing films to cinema, among which his trilogy based on Shakespeare’s novels ‘Maqbool’, ‘Omkara’ and ‘Haider’ are counted among the heritage films of Hindi cinema. Apart from this, he has also directed films like ‘Saat Khoon Maaf’, ‘Kaminey’, ‘Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola’, ‘Rangoon’ and ‘Pataakha’.

A long list of awards and recognition

In his 29-year career, Vishal Bharadwaj has won several accolades. Let’s have a look at them here:

1. 1999: Godmother – National Film Award for Best Music Direction
2. 2005: The Blue Umbrella – National Film Award for Best Children’s Film
3. 2006: Omkara – National Film Award – Special Jury Award (feature film)
4. 2011: Ishqiya – National Film Award for Best Music Direction
5. 2014: Haider – National Film Award for Best Screenplay (Dialogues) and Best Music Director
6. 2015: Talvar – National Film Award for Best Screenplay (Adapted)
7. 2022: 1232 KMS – National Film Award for  Best Music Direction (Non-Feature Film)
8. 2024: Fursat National Film Award for Best Music Direction (Non-Feature Film)

How did Vishal and Rekha Bharadwaj meet?

Vishal met his wife Rekha Bharadwaj at Hindu College of Delhi University function. Later, both of them became friends and their friendship turned into love. Vishal Bhardwaj and Rekha Bhardwaj got married in the year 1991.