Writer. Director. Music composer. Diehard Shakespeare fan. Vishal Bhardwaj is many things rolled into one. The Maqbool and Haider filmmaker has carved a niche for himself in the crime drama genres since the 2000s. But that doesn’t mean that he shies away from other genres.
His shockingly brilliant debut Makdee, for instance, was a children’s horror featuring Shabana Azmi as a goosebump-inducing witch. Bhardwaj’s Indianised Shakespearean adaptations might again seem like conspiracy thrillers on the surface but they have a lot of underlying social themes. Haider is a brilliant example as the revenge drama delves into the politically turbulent situation of the Indian state of Kashmir.
Here’s a glimpse at his career so far.
Bhardwaj’s Shakespeare trilogy (Maqbool, Omkara, Haider)
An English literature student from Delhi University’s Hindu College, Vishal Bhardwaj has been a dedicated Shakespeare aficionado. His appreciation for the Bard doesn’t just lead to mere mimicking of his tragedies but instead, Bhardwaj has added a raw, gritty Indian touch to his Shakespeare adaptations. Maqbool took Macbeth’s political crisis in the midst of the Mumbai underworld while Othello’s tale of infidelity and identity politics set the stage for Omkara, a bloody tale set in the criminal hinterland of Uttar Pradesh.
Haider, similarly found his frequent collaborator Shahid Kapoor playing the titular lead of Hamlet. Indian politics and family dynamics mingle in this snow-covered tale of Kashmir, complete with Kapoor holding a skull and having his own Hamlet-style “to be or not to be” moment.
A Maestro of Dark Comedy (Kaminey, 7 Khoon Maaf, Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola)
Despite his directorial debut Makdee being a family-friendly horror, most of Bhardwaj’s filmography is heavy on adult content. But despite the gruesome violence and sensual affairs, Bhardwaj also relies on a Coen-esque sense of dark comedy in most of his works. Kaminey which found Shahid Kapoor in a double role as a streetsmart gangster and his naive twin brother, played out as a comedy of errors with caricatured portrayals of criminals and politicians.
7 Khoon Maaf which drew inspiration from a Ruskin Bond novella played around with an amusing concept of Priyanka Chopra’s protagonist being a woman, charming multiple men as her husbands and killing them on the way. Each dark story of her husband brings out Bhardwaj’s eye for observational satire.
Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola, on the other hand, is a full-fledged satirical comedy even throwing in some memorably surreal elements like a thrilling alcoholic flight sequence and a rose pink-coloured buffalo. But Bhardwaj’s politics again spring up with the director commenting on workers’ rights, the perils of industrialisation, and Maoist rebellions in this laugh riot.
Why is Haider Vishal Bhardwaj’s best movie?
It’s hard to accord the top title to a single Vishal Bhardwaj movie, considering how most of his work is worthy of cult status. The same can be said even for films that he has only written or composed music for, like Ishqiya and Satya. But Haider still showcases the zenith of Bhardwaj’s career, with its hard-hitting performances and surprisingly relevant take on Hamlet. Shifting the setting from medieval Denmark to contemporary Kashmir, Bhardwaj’s violent revenge drama offers a career-best performance from Shahid Kapoor while the auteur bestows some of his best-written dialogues to convey the protagonist’s descent into madness. Kay Kay Menon and Tabu are equally menacing playing his uncle and mother respectively.
Where can you stream Vishal Bhardwaj’s filmography?
Bhardwaj’s only Netflix original so far is the spy thriller Khufiya which starred his recurring screen muse Tabu. Most of his other theatrical releases can also be streamed on Netflix, Prime Video and Hotstar.
