MUMBAI: Music director turned movie director Vishal Bhardwaj first came into attention through the soundtrack of ‘Maachis’. The familiarity turned into fame with ‘Satya’, and Bhardwaj has never looked back since. From the time of his debut for children’s movie- ‘Abhay’, Bhardwaj has never cloned any of his previous works, and that reputation only encouraged him throughout his career as a music director. With an innovative effort, Bhardwaj evaded Bollywood monotony with his soundtracks. Here are five tracks selected by Radioandmusic.com that prove Bhardwaj’s versatility as a complete artist.

‘O Saathi Re’- Omkara

Possibly, Vishal Bhardwaj’s most successful movie, the self-composed album was the icing on the cake. The song includes Bhardwaj on male vocals, and Shreya Ghoshal as the female vocalist. The track , like the album, received a huge amount of critical and commercial appreciation. ‘O Saathi Re’, written by Gulzar is a soulful romantic confession between two lovers, and Bhardwaj seems to know his forte.

‘Bekaraan’ – 7 Khoon Maaf

It’s no secret that Vishal Bhardwaj loves to experiment. His experimentation does not end with direction alone. The director, also the music composer for the movie, tried to exude freshness in the track ‘Bekaraan’, written by Gulzaar (once again) and Javed Sheikh. The song won accolades from critics, while the album received 3.5/5 ratings from Indo-Asian News Service.

‘Khamakha’ – Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola

The movie fared poorly at the box-office, but while speaking about its music, composer Vishal Bhardwaj once again saved the day. Bhardwaj must surely wish that he had written the script of the movie as well as his music, or more precisely, his original composition titled ‘Khamakha’, sung by the director himself.

‘Yun Hua’ - Striker

Released in 2010, the movie did not reach its potential, in terms of success at the box office. However, the same cannot be said about Bhardwaj’s flawless performance as the vocalist for one of the tracks titled ‘Yun Hua’. The movie’s soundtrack has several composers and lyricists, and Bhardwaj provided vocals to Gulzar’s poetry in the ‘Striker’ starring Siddharth in the lead role.

‘Jhelum’ – Haider

Bhardwaj surely loves and trusts his voice. Although, the critically acclaimed movie made news for various reasons, the music for the 2014 release was accepted and loved by everyone. With the legendary Gulzar’s lyrics, Bhardwaj yet again proved his musical talents, compelling the listener to feel the pain the composition reflects through his voice.