Career

Bhansali began his career as an assistant to Vidhu Vinod Chopra and was involved in the making of Parinda, 1942 A Love Story, and Kareeb. However, both had a fall out when Bhansali refused to direct Kareeb and instead made his directorial debut outside the Chopra camp with Khamoshi: The Musical, the commercially unsuccessful, but critically acclaimed narration of a daughter's struggle to communicate with her deaf mute parents. His next film was a triangular love story, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, which established his individualistic stamp for visual splendour and creating auras of celebration and festivity. The film was a great success and won numerous awards. His next film Devdas was Bhansali's ode to the well known novel of the same name. Upon its theatrical release in India, the film surfaced as the highest grossing movie It also won major Bollywood awards and was India’s official entry to the Oscars. The musical received a significant reception at Cannes, where it premiered. Then came Black, which Time Magazine (Europe) selected as fifth of the 10 Best Movies of the Year 2005 from across the globe. Black broke a record at the 2006 Filmfare Awards, winning eleven awards. After having four successes, Bhansali experienced his first major flop in Saawariya, which was met with sharp criticisms and simultaneously poor collections at the box office.

His current project is entitled Chenab Gandhi directed by Vibhu Puri and written by Bhavani Iyer, who also wrote for Black. A departure from romance, this songless film revolves around three characters played by Amitabh Bachchan, Rajeev Khandelwal and Vidya Balan and centers around Indian freedom fighter, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, also known as Frontier Gandhi.

His next directorial venture is titled Guzarish starring Hrithik Roshan & Aishwarya Rai Bachchan .

Awards

National Film Awards

• 2003: National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment - Devdas
• 2006: National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi - Black

Filmfare Awards

• 1997: Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie - Khamoshi: The Musical
• 2000: Filmfare Best Director Award - Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
• 2000: Filmfare Best Movie Award - Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
• 2003: Filmfare Best Director Award - Devdas
• 2003: Filmfare Best Movie Award - Devdas
• 2006: Filmfare Best Director Award - Black
• 2006: Filmfare Best Movie Award - Black
• 2006: Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie - Black

Zee Cine Awards

• 2000: Zee Cine Award Best Director - Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
• 2000: Zee Cine Award Best Film - Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
• 2003: Zee Cine Award Best Director - Devdas
• 2003: Zee Cine Award Best Film - Devdas
• 2006: Zee Cine Award Best Director - Black
• 2006: Zee Cine Award Best Film - Black

Star Screen Awards

• 2000: Star Screen Award Best Director - Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
• 2000: Star Screen Award Best Film - Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
• 2003: Star Screen Award Best Director - Devdas
• 2003: Star Screen Award Best Film - Devdas
• 2006: Star Screen Award Best Director - Black
• 2006: Star Screen Award Best Film - Black

IIFA Awards

• 2000: IIFA Best Director Award - Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
• 2000: IIFA Best Movie Award - Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
• 2003: IIFA Best Director Award - Devdas
• 2006: IIFA Best Director Award - Black
• 2006: IIFA Best Movie Award - Black

Bollywood Movie Award

• 2003: Bollywood Movie Award - Best Director - Devdas
• 2003: Bollywood Movie Award - Best Film - Devdas
• 2006: Bollywood Movie Award - Best Director - Black
• 2006: Bollywood Movie Award - Best Film - Black

Stardust Awards

• 2006: Stardust Dream Director Award - Black

Filmography

Director

• Khamoshi: The Musical (1996)
• Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999)
• Devdas (2002)
• Black (2005)
• Saawariya (2007)
• Guzarish (pre production)

Producer

• Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999)
• Black (2005)
• Saawariya (2007)
• Guzarish (pre production)

Writer

• 1942: A Love Story (1994)
• Khamoshi: The Musical (1996)