Fashion, Page 3 and more: Movies that portrayed the brilliance of Madhur Bhandarkar

When it comes to depicting reality on screen, no one does it better than Madhur Bhandarkar. The 54-year-old filmmaker has made a conscious effort to portray issues that plague our society and has helmed some hard-hitting movies with an inherent message. Here are some of his best projects...

After Mumtaz's parents are killed in a communal riot, she moves to Mumbai and is forced to become a bar dancer. Life gets even more complicated for her when she falls in love with gangster Pottya (Atul Kulkarni) and marries him, only for him to die soon after, leaving her with two young children and a load of debt. How Mumtaz then takes the reins of her life in her hands forms the crux of the story.

Exploring the superficial life of Bollywood celebs, seen through the eyes of upright journalist Madhavi Sharma, the movie delves deeper into the murky world behind the glitz and glamour, replete with drugs, heartbreaks, mental health issues and fame hungry actors, directors and models. As Madhavi tries to keep her sanity intact while navigating through a sticky path, her own conscience begins to question her, forcing her to eventually rethink her line of profession.

Middle-class, girl-next-door Meghna Mathur travels from Chandigarh to Mumbai to fulfil her dream of becoming a 'supermodel'. Initially resilient, she soon slips and finds herself getting further and further pulled into the murky world behind the glitz and glamour. It takes an ugly and heartbreaking incident for her to realise what she has landed herself in, and all hell breaks loose after that.

Babli, unlike other Haryanvi girls does not harbour dreams of getting married and procreating soon after. Instead, she wants to go to Delhi and work as a night club bouncer, a job more or less reserved for men. However, after arriving in the National Capital, Babli learns that the world is not as rosy as it seems and it finally takes her a heartbreak and a roadside brawl to toughen up and deal with life, head on. You can watch the movie on Disney+ Hotstar.

Inspired by true events, India Lockdown narrates four parallel stories simultaneously. The movie charts the aftermath of the lockdown, resulting from the Covid pandemic that turned the country upside down resulting in huge personal and economic losses for people from all walks of life. The drama flick boasts of an ensemble cast, including Shweta Basu Prasad, Aahana Kumra, Prateik Babbar, Sai Tamhankar and Prakash Belawadi. You can watch the movie on ZEE5.