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Madhur Bhandarkar

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Madhur Bhandarkar
Bhandarkar in 2013
Born(1968-08-26)26 August 1968(age 56)
Mumbai,Maharashtra,India
Occupation(s)Writer and film maker
Years active1995–present
Spouse
Renu Namboodiri
​
(m.2003)​
Children1
HonoursPadma Shri(2016)
Websitewww.madhurbhandarkar.in

Madhur Bhandarkar(born 26 August 1968) is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer. In 2016, Bhandarkar was honoured with thePadma Shri,thefourth highest civilianhonour, by theGovernment of India.[1]

He is known for directing the critically acclaimed crime dramaChandni Bar(2001), won him theNational Film Award for Best Film on Social Issues,the dramasPage 3(2005),Traffic Signal(2007), andFashion(2008), winning theNational Film Award for Best Feature Filmfor the first, and theNational Film Award for Best Directionfor the second, whilst earningFilmfare Awardnominations forBest DirectorandBest Screenplayfor the lattermost.

Bhandarkar also co – produced a Bengali filmAvijatrik(2021) based on the novelAparajitobyBibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay,which won theNational Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali.[2]He has also been nominated as society member of theSatyajit Ray Film and Television Instituteby the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.[3]

Career

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Bhandarkar worked in a video cassette library inKhar,a suburb ofMumbai.This gave him access to a large collection of movies and he studied film – making through it.

After trying his skills with small – time filmmakers as an assistant, Bhandarkar landed up as an assistant toRam Gopal Varma.He even played his first cameo in Varma's romantic comedyRangeela(1995), where he was the associate director to Varma.

A couple of years later he made his directorial debut withTrishakti(1999) which took more than three years to make. The film had a relatively low key cast and was largely ignored at the box office.

In 2001, he directed the crime dramaChandni BarstarringTabuandAtul Kulkarniin lead roles. The film depicted the gritty life of theMumbai underworld,including prostitution,dance barsand gun crime. It received high critical acclaim upon release, and emerged as a commercial success, elevating Bhandarkar into the top league of filmmakers of Bollywood. The film earned him theNational Film Award for Best Film on Social Issues.

In 2005, Bhandarkar directed the dramaPage 3starringKonkona Sen Sharma,which revolved around thePage 3 cultureand media in the city of Mumbai. Upon release, the film received high critical acclaim and emerged as a commercial success at the box office. It also earned Bhandarkar theNational Film Award for Best Feature Filmand theFilmfare Award for Best Screenplay,in addition to his first nomination for theFilmfare Award for Best Director.

After helming the corporate dramaCorporate(2006) starringBipasha BasuandKay Kay Menon,he directed the social dramaTraffic Signal(2007) starringKunal KhemuandKonkona Sen Sharma.The film depicted the lives and travails of people living around a fictitious traffic signal inMumbai.Upon release, it received high critical acclaim, but emerged as a middling commercial success at the box office. It earned Bhandarkar theNational Film Award for Best Direction.

Bhandarkar's next directorial venture, the dramaFashion(2008) starringPriyanka Chopra,Kangana RanautandMugdha Godsein lead roles, emerged as his biggest commercial success to date. The film, which explored feminism and female power in the world of Indian fashion, received widespread critical acclaim upon release.Fashionhas widely been regarded as one of the best women-centric films in Bollywood.[4][5]

He next directed the prison dramaJail(2009), starringNeil Nitin Mukeshand Mugdha Godse, which depicted the lives of wrongful convicts in Indian jails. The film received mixed reviews from critics and emerged as a below average commercial success at the box office.

His next directorial venture, the drama filmHeroine(2012), was based on the glamorous world of the Hindi film industry (Bollywood). Initially set to starAishwarya Raiin the lead role, the film starredKareena Kapooras a once – successful film actress whose career is on the decline. Upon release, the film received mixed – to – positive reviews, with Kapoor's performance and Bhandarkar's direction receiving high praise; it also emerged as a commercial success at the box office.

Madhur was conferred PL Deshpande Award a.k.a. Zenith Asia Award for significantly shaping the film making culture in his unique works and he has been described as 'the Film Maker of the First Decade of the 21st Century'. On the Silver Jubilee Year of Aashay Film Club, award ceremony took place on 16 Nov at National Film Archive Theatre during the eighth Pulotsav – An Art Festival in Pune. PL Deshpande was a renowned writer, stage and film actor and his literary works are still revered in Maharashtra and others parts of the world. In his honour, Zenith Asia Award was given to Madhur Bhandarkar and his filmChandni Barwas also screened during the fest amongst landmark 25 films from world cinema.

In Nov, 2010 National Film Archive of India (NFAI) announced to preserve all the films of Madhur Bhandarkar. Chandni Bar, Page – 3, Corporate, Traffic Signal, Fashion and Jail found space in Government's Archival data for Indian films.

Personal life

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Bhandarkar hails from a Marathi and Konkani[6]speakingGaud Saraswat Brahminfamily. He is a school drop – out. He came from a middle – class family. As a result, Madhur had to take up various jobs. He worked at a video store as an errand boy and dropped off cassettes to people from many walks of life including dance bar girls and film stars. He also sold chewing gum at traffic signals and worked as an assistant to small – time directors for a salary of₹1000.[7]

He is a great devotee of the Hindu GodSiddhivinayakand has been walking from his house in Khar, Mumbai to the temple for the past 18 years on every Tuesday. Madhur also regularly visits Vaishno Devi temple in Jammu & Kashmir and the Golden Temple in Amritsar. According to him, the filmCorporate(2006) was his most difficult film as people in corporate world would shun him after he baredPage 3 culturein his earlier film. He took inspiration forCorporatefrom the Coke – Pepsi controversy. He has been invited to deliver lectures on corporate issues to management students after the release ofCorporate.(Interview to TV channel IBN Lokmat on 26 November 2008) Bhandarkar married his girlfriend Renu Namboodiri on 15 December 2003 inMumbai.[8]They have a daughter named Siddhi.

Directorial style

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In most of his films, Bhandarkar's protagonist are females. (TabuinChandni Bar,Raveena TandoninSatta,Konkona Sen SharmainPage 3,Bipasha BasuinCorporate,Neetu ChandrainTraffic Signal,Priyanka ChoprainFashionandKareena KapoorinHeroine.) The exception here beingNeil Nitin Mukesh,who was cast as the protagonist inJail.He has also depicted various gay characters in his films likePage 3,Traffic SignalandFashion.

In an interview, he said: "My movies are not exposes, maybe they just hold up a mirror to society. My movies are not judgmental; I just show what happens in our society, sometimes there could be a solution and sometimes there may be none. Life goes on.".[9]Madhur is known for his hard – hitting and realistic films.[10][11]

Filmography

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As director, writer and producer

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Year Film Notes Ref.
1999 Trishakti [12][13]
2001 Chandni Bar National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues [13]
2003 Satta
2004 Aan: Men at Work
2005 Page 3 National Film Award for Best Feature Film
Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Director
2006 Corporate
2007 Traffic Signal National Film Award for Best Director
2008 Fashion Nominated –Filmfare Award for Best Director
Nominated –Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay
Nominated –Screen Award for Best Story
Nominated –IIFA Award for Best Director
Nominated –IIFA Award for Best Story
Nominated –Stardust Award for Best Film
Nominated –Stardust Award for Best Director
2009 Jail
2011 Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji
2012 Heroine
2015 Calendar Girls
2017 Indu Sarkar Oslo Film Festival Award for Best Director
2021 Avijatrik Bengali film
2022 India Lockdown Released onZEE5
Babli Bouncer Released onDisney+ Hotstar
2023 Circuitt As producer, Marathi film

As actor

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Year Film
1995 Rangeela

Television

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Serial Channel
Specials @ 10 Sony TV

Awards

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Achievements

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International awards

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  • Chandni Bar,Best Film atZimbabweInternational Film Festival 2003 and Technical Award for Best Background Music Score atMoscowInternational Film Festival 2003.
  • Page 3,Official Selection at the Raindance Film Festival,London2006 and IFFLA Los Angeles 2006.Corporate,Official Selection at theBerlinAsia – Pacific Film Festival 2006.
  • Fashion,Official Selection at the 31st Moscow International Film Festival 2009, Festival de Festivals, St.Petersburg 2009 andNorwayBollywood Festival 2009.
  • Retrospective of Page 3, Traffic Signal and Fashion with Russian Sub – Titles held by the Ministry of Culture, Russia and SOVEXPORTFILM in Moscow 2009.
  • Retrospective of Chandni Bar, Page 3, Corporate, Traffic Signal, Fashion and Jail at the 33rd Cairo International Film Festival 2009.
  • In 2009 he was awarded the Best Director for his Outstanding Contribution to Indian Cinema by the Ministry of Culture, Russia.
  • A retrospective of five films made by the filmmaker were showcased at the 33rd Cairo International Film Festival in Egypt from 10–20 November 2009. The films included Chandni Bar, Page3, Corporate, Traffic Signal and Fashion. Bhandarkar was present for the International event.

Other awards

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  • Bhandarkar received the Society Leading Lights Leadership Award in March 2017.[18]
  • Mayor of Mumbai – Excellency Award (2006)
  • Kalaranjani Awards – (2005)
  • Kalakar Awards for Best Director (2007) forCorporate[19]
  • Pride of Nation Award
  • Kesari Gaurav Sanman
  • Lions Gold Award (2005–06) (2008–09)
  • IMPPA Awards
  • Asian Film Foundation Award (2008)
  • Farsa Award (2009)
  • Jury Special Salute – Mirchi Music Awards (2016)[20]

References

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  1. ^ab"Rajinikanth gets Padma Vibhushan; Padma Shri for Priyanka Chopra, Ajay Devgn".The Indian Express.25 January 2016.Retrieved25 January2016.
  2. ^"Madhur Bhandarkar On Bengali Film 'Avijatrik' Winning National Film Awards: A Definite Boost For The Team".Outlook India. 1 October 2022.Retrieved8 April2023.
  3. ^"Madhur Bhandarkar to join society of Satyajit Ray's institute".The Indian Express.9 January 2017.
  4. ^"Top 10 path breaking women oriented films of Bollywood - Top Lists - Entertainment - The Times of India".14 April 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 14 April 2013.Retrieved4 October2023.
  5. ^"International Women's Day: Films that immortalised womanhood in the recent past".7 May 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 7 May 2013.Retrieved4 October2023.
  6. ^"मधुर भांडारकर: परिस्थितीचे चटके खात मोठा झालेला, आता स्वतःशीच झगडत असलेला गुणी दिग्दर्शक!".
  7. ^"I've no friends in Bollywood: Madhur".The Times of India.27 September 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 3 January 2013.Retrieved5 November2012.
  8. ^"Madhur Bhandarkar's wife Renu Namboodiri hates dark films: EYECATCHERS".India Today.29 December 2003.Retrieved5 November2012.
  9. ^"My films just hold up a mirror to society' - Madhur Bhandarkar".Business Of Cinema.25 January 2007.
  10. ^"Madhur: Hard-hitting movie again! - Bollywood.com News".
  11. ^"6 unforgettable hard-hitting films of Madhur Bhandarkar".
  12. ^Chaubey, Pranita (8 January 2022)."Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar Tests Positive For COVID-19".NDTV.Retrieved3 December2022.
  13. ^ab"Madhur Bhandarkar".British Film Institute.Archived fromthe originalon 22 September 2022.Retrieved3 December2022.
  14. ^"'Lage Raho Munnabhai' best popular film ".Archived fromthe originalon 5 October 2012.Retrieved12 July2022.
  15. ^"Madhur Bhandarkar honoured with Sophia Award in New York".news.biharprabha.com. Indo-Asian News Service. 12 October 2014.Retrieved12 October2014.
  16. ^"Bhandarkar honoured at the House of Commons".Hindustan Times.8 November 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 16 February 2015.Retrieved12 October2014.
  17. ^"Madhur Bhandarkar to receive Raj Kapoor Smriti Awards".The Indian Express.5 August 2014.Retrieved11 March2016.
  18. ^"Star-studded Society Leadership Awards 2017".BizAsia.27 March 2017.
  19. ^"About The Kalakar Awards - Kalakarawards"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 25 April 2012.
  20. ^"Madhur Bhandarkar at Mirchi Music Award Jury Bollywood Helpline".bollywoodhelpline.com.Retrieved11 March2016.
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