Madhur Bhandarkar, a Maharashtrian Saraswat Brahmin by descent, is an Indian film director, representing off beat and realistic themes in his films. The first profession that Madhur Bhandarkar took up in life was running a videocassette library in Khar. During the hours he spent in the shop, he watched a large collection of movies and studied the techniques of movie making.

Madhur Bhandarkar`s Career
Madhur Bhandarkar first started to assist Ram Gopal Varma and he played a small role in his 1995 film Rangeela, with Aamir Khan and Urmila Matondkar, but he made his directorial debut with the film Trishakti in 1999. The film had a moderate success at the box office. After two years he came up with the film Chandni Bar (2001) starring Tabu and Atul Kulkarni. The film received critical acclamation that took Bhandarkar into the top league of filmmakers in Bollywood. The film depicts the rough life of the Mumbai underworld, including issues like prostitution and gun crime.

After Chandni Bar, Madhur Bhandarkar directed another critically acclaimed film - Satta (2003) based on Indian politics, this film featured Raveena Tandon in its lead role. Madhur Bhandarkar signed Konkona Sen Sharma for his next film Page 3 (2005). The film was awarded with 3 National Film Awards in 2005, including the Golden Lotus Award for Best Film. The film portrays the intricate lifestyle in the field of journalism and elite society that was favoured by the critics. Madhur Bhandarkar`s next release was Corporate (2006); featuring Bipasha Basu followed by the film Traffic Signal (2007). The critics praised both the films and the 54th National Film Awards Jury has chosen him for the outstanding director award for Traffic Signal. Madhur Bhandarkar is best known for his socially significant and hard-hitting films. In most of his films Madhur Bhandarkar is seen to make the female as the main protagonist. This has been followed in four of his films: Tabu in Chandni Bar, Raveena Tandon in Satta, Konkona Sen Sharma in Page 3, Bipasha Basu in Corporate, and Priyanka Chopra in Fashion. The film fashion was released in 2008 and spread uproar of appreciation, especially amongst the youth. The film deals with the compromising fashion world and unbalanced lifestyle of the models. His next release was Jail with Neil Nitin Mukesh. Graphic depiction of the drudgery of the convict and the pitiable conditions in Jail form most of the story. His movies hold up a mirror to the society and they are usually not judgmental. Sometimes the films do offer a solution, whereas at times it is just a reality show on the big screen. With his recent release, Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji, Bhandarkar has proved his flair for comedy also. The movie starring Ajay Devgan, Emran Hashmi and Omi Vaidya in the lead roles is well appreciated by the audiences.

Madhur Bhandarkar`s Personal Life
Madhur Bhandarkar married his girlfriend Renu Namboodiri Bhandarkar on December 15, 2003 in Mumbai and they have a daughter named Siddhi. Madhur Bhandarkar is the member of International film and Television Research Centre of Asian Academy of Film and Television, Noida.

Awards and Honours of Madhur Bhandarkar
Madhur Bhandarkar received his 1st National Award for the film Chandi Bar. He next got three National awards for his films Page-3 and Traffic Signal. Madhur was conferred PL Deshpande Award a.k.a. Zenith Asia Award for significantly shaping the film making culture in his unique works. He has also been named as The Film Maker of The First Decade of 21st Century. On the Silver Jubilee Year of Aashay Film Club, this award ceremony took place on 16th Nov at National Film Archive Theatre during 8th `Pulotsav - An Art Festival` in Pune. Even the National Film Archive of India has preserved his movies.






Filmography of Madhur Bhandarkar

Year	Films	-
2011	Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji	Director
2009	Jail	Director
2008	Fashion	Director, Writer (Story & Screenplay)
2007	Traffic Signal	Director, Writer (Dialogue, Screenplay & Story)
2006	Corporate	Director, Writer (Screenplay)
2005	Page 3	Director, Writer (Dialogue)
2004	Aan: Men at Work	Director
2003	Satta	Director, Writer (Dialogue & Story)
2001	Chandni Bar	Director, Writer
1999	Trishakti	Director