Madhur Bhandarkar is known to portray the crude reality of the world through his films. He made his directorial debut with the 1999 film Trishakti, and since then, he has been gifting the Hindi film industry with an amazing list of films that strike a chord with the audience. The director, who won the Padma Shri from the Government of India in 2016, is famous for portraying female protagonists as extremely strong characters who carry the storyline solely on their shoulders.
We have hand-picked our favourite films made by Bhandarkar, which shook us with reality check and also reflected great storytelling. Take a look:
Chandni Bar
Released in 2001, the film starred Tabu in the lead role. The story traced the life of a rural girl, who lost her family to communal riot and was forced to come to the suburbs of Mumbai. She got forced to take up the job of a bar dancer and even became a victim of molestation by her own uncle. The film told the tale of how Tabu’s character tread the way of prostitution, Mumbai underworld and tortures inflicted on females in the profession. The film won 4 national awards – best actress, best supporting actor, best supporting actress and the best film on social issues.
Page 3
This film traced the life of a journalist who wrote for the page 3 column of a publication – her struggles of reporting on celebrity gossip, news and how she made her way in the profession. The film borrowed heavily from the celebrity culture of Mumbai. Konkona Sen Sharma, who played the lead role, shared screen space with Atul Kulkarni, Sandhya Mridul, Tara Sharma, Anju Mahendru, and Boman Irani in the film.
Fashion
The film was about Meghna Mathur, played by Priyanka Chopra, and her transformation from a small town girl to a supermodel. The story portrayed the struggles that women go through in the fashion industry. It also spoke highly of feminism and female power in the industry. The film garnered several awards and accolades, post its release, including the national award for best actress and the best supporting actress, which was played by Kangana Ranaut.
Satta
Portraying Raveena Tandon in the lead role, Satta traced the life of a minister’s wife who was compelled to contest the elections after her husband landed up in jail of murder charges. It traced Raveena’s life which changed after she encountered the underworld, businessmen, corrupt policemen and politicians. Besides Raveena, the film also starred Atul Kulkarni, Govind Namdev and Sameer Dharmadhikari in pivotal roles. Till date, Satta is considered to be one of Raveena’s best performances.
Heroine
This film was an eye-opener in terms of the struggles that even successful actresses sometimes go through in the film industry. From adultery to depression, Mahi Arora – played by Kareena Kapoor – broke all barriers to become one of the most sought-after actresses. However, her fame was short-lived and finally she decided to leave the film industry and take up a new identity in a foreign country. This multi-starrer drama also featured Arjun Rampal, Randeep Hooda, Shahana Goswami, Rakesh Bapat, Divya Dutta, Helen, Shillpi Sharma, Mugdha Godse and Lillete Dubey in important roles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=/vOsaEtT2RAs
Bhandarkar’s last-released film is the political period drama Indu Sarkar that featured Kirti Kulhari, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Anupam Kher, Tota Roy Chowdhury, Nitanshi Goel and Supriya Vinod. The film garnered mixed reviews post its release in 2017.
