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 spend in the shop, he watched a large collection of movies and studied the techniques of movie making. 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, 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 (actress) and Atul Kulkarni. The film received critical acclamation that took Bhandarkar into the top league of filmmakers in Bollywood. Madhur Bhandarkar received his 1st national award for this film. 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 favored 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.

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. 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 is 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. The film itself had a glamorous backdrop and the direction of this intellectual mind offered the best package of entertainment. 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.

Filmography of Madhur Bhandarkar

As a Director

Aan: Men at Work -2004	Corporate -2006	Page 3 -2005	Traffic Signal -2007
Chandni Bar -2001	Fashion -2008	Satta -2003	Trishakti -1999

As a Writer

Fashion (2008)	Corporate (2006)	Satta (2003)
Traffic Signal (2007)	Page 3 (2005)	Chandni Bar (2001)