Bhardwaj started playing
harmonium for friends who were
ghazal singers. After a few years, he took up a job with a music company called CBS in Delhi. He later went to Mumbai to become a music composer, and he only took to directing films to create the opportunity to compose music. He went on to compose music for
Fauji (1995) and
Sanshodhan (1996). In 1996, he served as the music director for
Gulzar's
Maachis, for which he received the
Filmfare R. D. Burman Award for New Music Talent and his first nomination for the
Filmfare Award for Best Music Director. The film depicted the transformation of boys into terrorists during the
Punjab insurgency in
Punjab in the 1980s. The soundtrack composed by Bhardwaj became an anthem for politically restive college youth at that time. His further projects included
Betaabi (1997),
Tunnu Ki Tina (1997),
Satya (1998) and
Hu Tu Tu (1999). At the
46th National Film Awards, Bhardwaj received the
National Film Award for Best Music Direction for his critically acclaimed score in
Godmother (1999). In 2010, he composed the music for his production venture
Ishqiya, which garnered him his second National Film Award for Best Music Direction and his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director. He also composed music for
Jungle Book Shōnen Mowgli, the Hindi-dubbed version of the
anime adaptation of
Rudyard Kipling's original collection of stories,
The Jungle Book. Apart from feature films, Bhardwaj has provided music for albums such as
Sunset Point (2000),
Ishqa Ishqa (2002) and
Barse Barse (2011). He frequently collaborates with Gulzar.
Writer and director Bhardwaj made his directorial debut with the children's film
Makdee (2002), starring
Shabana Azmi,
Makarand Deshpande and
Shweta Prasad. The film tells the story of twin young girls and an alleged witch in a mansion. Bhardwaj had read a short version of
William Shakespeare's
Macbeth and wanted to turn it into a gangster film. He then started working with
Abbas Tyrewala to adapt the play.
Sita Menon of
Rediff.com called it "..a visual gallery that is an intelligent blend of dark, tragic overtones and comic, satirical undertones."
CNN-IBN listed
Maqbool as "one of the 100 greatest Indian films of all time" in a 2013 list. In 2010, critic
Raja Sen included it in "The Top 75 Hindi Films of the Decade" list. In 2006, Bhardwaj again adapted Shakespeare, reimagining his tragedy
Othello as
Omkara. Set against the backdrop of the political system in Uttar Pradesh, the film starred an
ensemble cast of
Ajay Devgn,
Kareena Kapoor,
Saif Ali Khan,
Konkona Sen Sharma,
Vivek Oberoi and
Bipasha Basu in lead roles, with Devgn playing the titular character. It premiered at the 6th
Marrakech International Film Festival, and was screened at the
Cairo International Film Festival. At the
54th National Film Awards, Bhardwaj received the
Special Jury Award (feature film) for the film, in addition to earning his first nomination for the
Filmfare Award for Best Director.
Omkara met with widespread critical acclaim, but was a
box office disappointment. However, it opened to a positive box office response in North America and the United Kingdom. Bhardwaj's next project was the 2005 children's film
The Blue Umbrella, based on
Ruskin Bond's
novel of the same name. It won the
National Film Award for Best Children's Film in 2005. His followup was
Blood Brothers (2007), a short film on
HIV/AIDS with a run time of 13 minutes. It tells the story of a young man who, after finding out that he is HIV positive, allows his life to fall apart. It was a part of the 'AIDS JaaGo', a series of four short films directed by
Mira Nair,
Santosh Sivan, and
Farhan Akhtar in a joint initiative by Nair and the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The series premiered at the
2007 Toronto International Film Festival. The same year, he served as a writer for
Sanjay Gupta's
anthology film,
Dus Kahaniyaan. In 2009, Bhardwaj directed the action film
Kaminey starring
Shahid Kapoor and
Priyanka Chopra. The film follows the rivalry between identical twins, one with a
lisp and one with a
stammer. He bought the story for this film from a Kenyan writer. It opened to positive reviews from critics upon release.
Anupama Chopra gave a rating of 4 out of 5 and wrote "
Kaminey is the best Bollywood film I've seen this year. It's an audacious, original rollercoaster ride. Written and directed by Vishal Bhardwaj,
Kaminey requires patience and attention but the pay off is more than worth it."
Kaminey was also a financial success, earning over worldwide. The film earned Bhardwaj his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director and Best Music Director.
7 Khoon Maaf (2011), a film based on Ruskin Bond's short story, ''Susanna's Seven Husbands'', was Bhardwaj's next directorial venture. The story revolves around Susanna Anna-Marie Johannes (played by Priyanka Chopra) who murders her seven husbands in an unending quest for love. The film was written collaboratively by Bhardwaj, Bond and American writer
Matthew Robbins. It released on 18 February 2011 and met with positive reviews. A
Zee News critic mentioned in a four out of five star review: "Vishal Bhardwaj does it again. The maverick filmmaker has once again woven magic with his latest blockbuster
7 Khoon Maaf". In 2013, Bhardwaj directed
Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola, a
political satire set in the rustic surroundings of a village in
Haryana. It starred
Anushka Sharma and
Imran Khan, with Pankaj Kapur and Shabana Azmi in supporting roles. Bhardwaj also choreographed a song "Oye Boy Charlie" in the film. The film received mixed reviews from critics, and underperformed at the box office. In 2014, Bhardwaj made his stage debut with the
opera A Flowering Tree. It was based on a classic folk tale by Kannada writer and scholar
A. K. Ramanujan. In 2014, he completed his Shakespearean trilogy with
Haider, based on the tragedy
Hamlet. Set during the
Kashmir conflict of 1995, the film starred Shahid Kapoor in the titular role, for which he, along with Bhardwaj, charged no money.
Haider garnered widespread critical acclaim, though it was controversial among Hindu nationalists for its portrayal of the conflict in Kashmir.
CNN-IBN's
Rajeev Masand called it "an elegant, thrilling film that casts a brave, unflinching eye on the Kashmir struggle." At the
62nd National Film Awards, Bhardwaj won
National Film Awards for
Best Music Director and
Best Dialogues. It also earned him
Filmfare nominations for
Best Film and
Best Director at the
60th Filmfare Awards. After a two-year hiatus, Bhardwaj returned in 2016 to direct
Rangoon, a romantic drama set during
World War II and starring
Kangana Ranaut, Shahid Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan. About the film, Bhardwaj said: "In history, very few people know that India was also involved in the war. On the Burma border the British Indian army was fighting against Subhash Chandra Bose's INA (Indian National Army), who were then with Japanese army and Indians were killing Indians at the Burma border." The film opened to generally mixed reviews and failed to find a wide audience at the box office. In 2018, Bhardwaj wrote, co-produced and directed
Pataakha, starring
Sanya Malhotra and debutant
Radhika Madan as two quarrelsome sisters. It was based on the short story
Do Behenein by Rajasthani writer and teacher Charan Singh Pathik, which he loved after reading it in 2013 in the
Sahitya Kala Parishad journal. Udita Jhunjhunwala of
Mint called the film "real and gritty" with Bhardwaj creating an "altogether authentic world". However, she felt that the film was stretched in length and "squanders its material advantage to pad out a fable that splutters and grunts before it gains momentum."
Producer Bhardwaj produces his own films under his banner VB Pictures. In 2010, he produced the
black comedy Ishqiya. Starring
Vidya Balan,
Naseeruddin Shah and
Arshad Warsi, the film was directed by debutant
Abhishek Chaubey. Chaubey had earlier assisted and co-wrote several of Bhardwaj's films. The film was an average grosser at the box-office. The film earned him his third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director. He teamed up with
Ekta Kapoor's
Balaji Motion Pictures to produce the supernatural thriller
Ek Thi Daayan in 2013. Dealing with the theme of
witchcraft, the film was based on 'Mobius Trips', a short story written by
Konkona Sen Sharma's father. It received mixed reviews from critics, but proved to be profitable at the box office. His next production venture was
Dedh Ishqiya, a sequel to the 2010 film
Ishqiya. Starring
Madhuri Dixit, Naseeruddin Shah,
Huma Qureshi and Arshad Warsi, the film was a critical and commercial success, earning ₹270 million (US$4.1 million) in India and abroad. In 2015, Bhardwaj wrote and co-produced
Meghna Gulzar's drama thriller
Talvar. The film was based on the
2008 Noida double murder case, and starred Irrfan Khan, Konkana Sen Sharma and
Neeraj Kabi.
Talvar premiered at the
2015 Toronto International Film Festival, and was released in India on 2 October 2015 to positive reviews from critics.
Playback singer Apart from composing music, Bhardwaj has also lent his voice to various songs for films like
Omkara,
No Smoking,
U Me Aur Hum,
Kaminey,
Striker,
7 Khoon Maaf,
Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola, and
Haider. ==Craft and style==