Radha Bharadwaj is an Indian filmmaker

Film director

A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

, film producer

Film producer

A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...

 and screenwriter

Screenwriter

Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...

. She moved to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in her late teens to study film. Bharadwaj's screenwriting and directing feature debut is Closet Land

Closet Land

Closet Land is a 1991 independent film written and directed by Radha Bharadwaj. It stars Madeleine Stowe as a young author of children's books and Alan Rickman as a ruthless interrogator.-Synopsis:...

. The critically acclaimed surreal psychological drama was released by Universal Pictures

Universal Studios

Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....

 in 1991, making Radha Bharadwaj the first director of Indian descent to have a film released by a Hollywood major. Closet Land stars Alan Rickman

Alan Rickman

Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman is an English actor and theatre director. He is a renowned stage actor in modern and classical productions and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company...

 and Madeleine Stowe

Madeleine Stowe

Madeleine Mora Stowe is an American actress. She rose to prominence appearing in films such as Stakeout, Revenge, Unlawful Entry, The Last of the Mohicans, Blink, China Moon, 12 Monkeys, and We Were Soldiers...

. Ron Howard

Ron Howard

Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...

 and Brian Grazer

Brian Grazer

Brian Thomas Grazer is an Academy Award-winning American film and television producer who co-founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986 with Ron Howard. Together they have produced many acclaimed films, including Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind .- Career :Brian Grazer began his career as a producer...

 produced the feature. The screenplay for Closet Land won the Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...

, among others. Bharadwaj's second feature is the Victorian

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

 gothic mystery, Basil

Basil (film)

Basil is a 1998 British historical drama film directed by Radha Bharadwaj and starring Jared Leto, Derek Jacobi, Claire Forlani, and Christian Slater. It was based on the 1852 novel of the same name by Wilkie Collins. The adaptation was by Bharadwaj.-Plot:...

. The period thriller, set in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, stars Jared Leto

Jared Leto

Jared Joseph Leto is an American actor, director, producer, occasional model and musician. Leto has appeared in both big budget Hollywood films and smaller projects from independent producers and art houses. He rose to prominence for playing Jordan Catalano in the teenage drama My So-Called Life...

, Derek Jacobi

Derek Jacobi

Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...

, Christian Slater

Christian Slater

Christian Michael Leonard Slater is an American actor. He made his film debut with a small role in The Postman Always Rings Twice before playing a leading role in the 1985 film The Legend of Billie Jean...

 and Claire Forlani

Claire Forlani

Claire Antonia Forlani is an English actress.-Early life:Claire Forlani was born in Twickenham, London, the daughter of Barbara , who was English, and Pierluigi Forlani, a music manager from Ferrara, Italy. At the age of 11, Forlani entered the Arts Educational School in London, where she began to...

. The director's cut for Basil was twice selected to be the closing night film for the Special Presentation series at the Toronto International Film Festival

Toronto International Film Festival

The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...

, and chosen for a prime slot at the Los Angeles Film Festival

Los Angeles Film Festival

The Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by the Los Angeles Times is an event held annually in June in downtown Los Angeles, California. The Los Angeles Film Festival began as the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival in 1995. The first LAIFF took place over the course of five days in a single...

. The film was also acclaimed at the American Film Market

American Film Market

The American Film Market is a film industry event held each year at the beginning of November in Santa Monica, California. About 8,000 people attend the eight day event to network and to sell and acquire films...

. Bharadwaj is currently working on new projects.

External links

• Official site