Madhur Bhandarkar is renowned for creating iconic films that highlight social issues. Despite working with low budgets, the filmmaker achieved critical and commercial success. In a recent interview with Bollywood Hungama, Madhur addressed the ongoing debate about high entourage costs. He mentioned that female actors who played the lead roles in his movies reduced their fees. 

Madhur Bhandarkar on star entourage costs

When quizzed about facing any issues related to entourage costs or rising star fees, the filmmaker said, “Every female actor slashed her price when they were working with me. Since, I only had a budget of ₹1.5 crore for Chandni Bar, Tabu didn't not charge any fee for the film. She took money against Bombay or Delhi territory, and nothing else apart from that. She worked with such conviction. Raveena Tandon (Satta) and Bipasha Basu (Corporate) reduced their prices. Even Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor slashed their fees. They didn’t charge the market price from me because they were keen on making these movies. The entire film was resting on their shoulders so everybody slashed their prices.”

Madhur Bhandarkar's movie career

Madhur's Fashion (2008) featured Priyanka Chopra as the protagonist. Arbaaz Khan, Kangana Ranaut, Mughda Godse, Samir Soni, Kitu Gidwani and others also played crucial characters in the movie. The film was about a small-town girl's ambition to become a supermodel. While Priyanka won the National Film Award for Best Female Actor, Kangana bagged the award in the Best Supporting Actor (Female) category.

Madhur's social-drama Heroine (2012) based on a fading superstar featured Kareena Kapoor in the titular role. Arjun Rampal, Randeep Hooda and Divya Dutta also played pivotal characters in the film.

Awards and accolades received by Madhur Bhandarkar

Madhur Bhandarkar is a four-time national award-winning filmmaker. His film Chandni Bar (2001) won him the National Film Award for Best Film on Social Issues. His dramas Page 3 (2005), Traffic Signal (2007), and Fashion (2008) also received critical acclaim, with the first winning the National Film Award for Best Feature Film and the second earning him the National Film Award for Best Direction. In 2016, he was honored with India's fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri.

Madhur's last directorial was Babli Bouncer (2022) starring Tamannaah Bhatia as the protagonist.

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