Bharat Bala

Bharat Bala
Born
Ganapathy Bharat

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter, producer
Years active1997–present
Websitebbp.co.in

Bharat Bala is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer who is based in Chennai and Mumbai.[1]

Career

Bharat Bala first gained national attention for the patriotic music videos Vande Mataram (1997) and Jana Gana Mana (2000), created with long-time collaborator A. R. Rahman.

He was set to direct and produce an Indo-Japanese film, co-produced by Disney, called The 19th Step, written by and starring Kamal Haasan, but the project was later shelved.[2] He went on to direct Hari Om (2004)[3] and Maryan (2013).[4]

In 2010, he directed the music video of the official song of the Commonwealth Games, Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto and also the opening ceremony of the games.[5]

In 2019 he launched Virtual Bharat, an ongoing 1,000-film digital museum documenting India’s art, culture and landscapes.[6] During the COVID-19 lockdown he directed the four-minute short We Will Rise (2020), shot remotely across 14 Indian states.[7]

At the 55th International Film Festival of India in November 2024 he spoke on the panel “Culture as Context for Cinematic Storytelling,” highlighting Virtual Bharat’s crowd-funded model.[8]

Bala’s next feature, Mahasangam—set against the 2025 Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj and scored by A. R. Rahman—entered post-production in early 2025.[9]

Virtual Bharat highlights

  • Thaalam (2019) – inaugural short filmed at the Kerala boat races.[10]
  • Ganga – Daughter of the Himalayas (2023) – first film in the Uttarakhand cycle.[6]
  • Several additional shorts released online between 2019 and 2025.

Filmography

Feature films

Year Title Language Notes
2004 Hari Om Hindi Debut feature
2013 Maryan Tamil Survival drama starring Dhanush[11]
2025 Mahasangam Hindi Post-production[9]

Selected short films / documentaries

  • We Will Rise (2020) – short film
  • Virtual Bharat series (2019–present)

References

  1. ^ "Bharat Bala on South Indian Identity, Cinema & Nostalgia". YouTube. Red FM India. 12 July 2025. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  2. ^ "'The 19th Step' shelved?". Times of India. 14 January 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  3. ^ "Bharat Bala hopes to create a buzz at Cannes with his English-French film 'Hari Om'". India Today. 8 December 2003. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  4. ^ "Cocktail of love and action". The New Indian Express. 20 July 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  5. ^ "Meet the man responsible for CWG turnaround". Rediff. 16 October 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Bharatbala's ambitious Virtual Bharat project releases first film in Uttarakhand series". The New Indian Express. 23 November 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  7. ^ "Filmmaker Bharat Bala captures lockdown experience in short film We Will Rise". The New Indian Express. 6 June 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  8. ^ "Panel discussion at IFFI 2024 highlights role of culture in cinematic storytelling". Devdiscourse. 25 November 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Abhishek Banerjee, Shahana Goswami & Neeraj Kabi come together for Bharat Bala's Mahasangam". Bollywood Hungama. 27 February 2025. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  10. ^ "'Patriotism is a personal emotion, doesn't need to be told': Bharatbala". The New Indian Express. 5 September 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  11. ^ "Maryan Movie Review". The Times of India. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
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