Vishesh Films is an Indian film production and distribution company based in Mumbai, founded in 1987 by brothers Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt, and named after Mukesh's son, filmmaker Vishesh Bhatt.
For over three decades, the company operated as a major commercial banner in Hindi cinema, recognized for producing high-concept, low-to-medium-budget thrillers, romantic dramas, and horror films characterized by widely popular soundtrack albums. The banner was responsible for several commercial successes and franchise starters, including Aashiqui (1990), Jurm (1990), Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin (1991), Sadak (1991), Junoon (1992), Sir (1993), Naajayaz (1995), Dushman (1998), Ghulam (1998), Sangharsh (1999), Raaz (2002), Murder (2004), Gangster (2006), Awarapan (2007), Jannat (2008), Murder 2 (2011), Jannat 2 (2012), Aashiqui 2 (2013), and Awarapan 2 (2026). Following a professional parting between the brothers in 2021, the company came under the sole ownership of Mukesh Bhatt, with Vishesh Bhatt serving as its creative and production head.
History In 1987 Mukesh Bhatt turned producer when he set up his own banner, "Vishesh Films", naming it after his son Vishesh Bhatt. He went on to become one of the most recognised banners of the Indian film industry in the coming decade, giving both serious productions (along with his brother Mahesh who directed these films) – like Daddy (1989), launching his niece Pooja Bhatt as a movie actress, — as well as commercial romantic hits like Kabzaa (1988), Aashiqui (1990) and Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin (1991), in which he cast Pooja with actor Aamir Khan. He next produced Sadak (1991), which remains his highest grossing work, also directed by his brother Mahesh Bhatt. He won critical acclaim for Sir (1993), which saw Pooja Bhatt act with Naseeruddin Shah along with the hit Criminal (1995).
He also produced the film Tadipaar (1993). Following this, he produced dramas like Dastak (1996), the debut film of Miss Universe 1994-turned-actress Sushmita Sen, and Tamanna (1997). In 1998 his brother Mahesh Bhatt directed his last directorial venture Zakhm (1998) returned to the censor board because of right-wing pressure critical of its references to the Mumbai riots of 1993 and joined as full-time creative head of Vishesh Films. Thereafter, the Bhatt brothers joined hands and churned out stories and screenplays for over twenty films, many of which were box-office successes, like Dushman (1998), Sangharsh (1999), Raaz (2002), Murder (2004), Gangster (2006), Woh Lamhe (2006), Murder 2 (2011), Jism 2 (2012) and Murder 3 (2013).
Vishesh Films is known for producing small-budgeted commercially successful films with great music. They produced thrillers like Criminal (1994), Ghulam (1998), Raaz (2002), Murder (2004), Zeher (2005), and Gangster (2006), all of which were major commercial successes.
They further produced Zeher (2005), Awarapan (2007), and Jannat (2008), all starring Emraan Hashmi. While the first two were moderate successes, the latter emerged as a super hit. They then began producing quasi-sequels and have given the maximum number of franchises to Indian cinema. However, a common criticism of the films produced under the banner has been that the films are unofficial adaptations and rip-offs of many Hollywood and South Korean films.
For 30 years, Mukesh along with his brother, Mahesh, produced films under the production house. However owing to differences between the brothers, Mukesh officially took over Vishesh Films and in May 2021, it was publicly announced that Mahesh Bhatt was no more associated with the production house.
Filmography
The following is a list of films produced under the banner Vishesh Films.
1986–2000 + Release date Title CBFC rating Director Writer Composer Lyricist Cast1988 May 20 Kabzaa U Mahesh Bhatt Salim KhanRajesh Roshan Anand Bakshi Sanjay Dutt Raj Babbar Amrita Singh Paresh Rawal1989 February 08 Daddy U Suraj Sanim Suraj Sanim Anupam Kher Pooja Bhatt Manohar Singh Raj Zutshi1990 July 13 Jurm A Salim Khan Indeevar Payam Sayeedi Meenakshi Sheshadri Sangeeta Bijlani Vinod Khanna August 17 Aashiqui U Akash Khurana Robin Bhatt Nadeem-Shravan Sameer, Rani Malik & Madan Pal Rahul Roy Anu Aggarwal Deepak Tijori1991 July 3 Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin U Robin Bhatt Sharad Joshi Faiz Anwar Aamir Khan Anupam Kher Pooja Bhatt Tiku Talsania December 3 Sadak A Robin Bhatt Sameer, Surinder Saathi, Rani Malik Pooja Bhatt Sanjay Dutt1992 September 18 Junoon A Robin BhattSameer, Surinder Saathi, Rani Malik and Santosh Anand Avinash Wadhawan Pooja Bhatt Rahul Roy1993 Jaanam U Vikram Bhatt Anu Malik Faaiz Anwar Indeevar Qateel Shifai Rahat Indori Paresh Rawal Pooja Bhatt Rahul Roy July 9 Sir U/A Mahesh Bhatt Jay Dixit Qateel Shifai Rahat Indori Atul Agnihotri Naseeruddin Shah Pooja Bhatt December 17 Tadipaar U Nadeem–Shravan Sameer Anupam Kher Gulshan Grover Juhi Chawla Mithun Chakraborty Pooja Bhatt1994 August 19 Naaraaz A Jay Dixit Anu Malik Dev Kohli Maya Govind Qateel Shifai Rahat Indori Zameer Qazmi Atul Agnihotri Gulshan Grover Mithun Chakraborty Pooja Bhatt Sonali Bendre1995 March 17 Naajayaz U/A Jay Dixit Sudarshan Faakir Indeewar Rahat Indori Maya Govind Pushpa Verma Ajay Devgn Juhi Chawla Naseeruddin Shah July 21 Criminal A M. M. Keeravani Vennelakanti Sirivennela Sitaramasastri Manisha Koirala Nagarjuna Akkineni Ramya Krishnan1996 June 28 Fareb A Vikram Bhatt Iqbal Durrani Jatin–Lalit Neeraj Indeevar Kundan singh Milind Gunaji Suman Ranganathan November 29 Dastak A Mahesh Bhatt Vikram Bhatt Rajesh Roshan Javed Akhtar Bhavna Datta Manoj Bajpai Mukul Dev Sharad Kapoor Sushmita Sen Tiku Talsania Vishwajeet Pradhan1997 May 8 Dil Kitna Nadan Hai U/A Ravi Rai Vikram Bhatt Anu Malik Faiz Anwar, Hasrat Jaipuri, Rahat Indori Raja Bherwani, Raageshwari, Kiran Kumar1998 May 29 Dushman A Tanuja Chandra Sachin Bhowmick Girish Dhamija Mahesh Bhatt Aadesh Shrivastava Uttam Singh Anand Bakshi Kajol Sanjay Dutt Ashutosh Rana June 19 Ghulam A Vikram Bhatt Anjum Rajabali Jatin–Lalit Indeevar, Nitin Raikwar, Sameer, Vinod Mahendra Aamir Khan, Rani Mukerji, Deepak Tijori, Sharat SaxenaPooja Bhatt December 25 Zakhm A Mahesh Bhatt Mahesh Bhatt Tanuja Chandra Girish Dhamija M. M. Keeravani Anand Bakshi Ajay Devgn, Pooja Bhatt, Nagarjuna, Sonali Bendre1999 September 3 Sangharsh A Tanuja Chandra Girish Dhamija Mahesh Bhatt Jatin–Lalit Akshay Kumar Ashutosh Rana Preity Zinta December 10 Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan U Mahesh Bhatt Soni Razdan Ravinder Prashar Girish Dhamija Indeevar, Nitin Raikwar, Sameer, Faaiz Anwar Saif Ali Khan, Twinkle Khanna, Chunky Pandey, Akshay Anand
2001–present Release date Title CBFC rating Director Writer Composer Lyricist Cast2001 February 2 Kasoor A Vikram Bhatt Girish Dhamija Mahesh Bhatt Nadeem-Shravan Sameer Aftab Shivdasani Apurva Agnihotri Ashutosh Rana Divya Dutta Irrfan Khan Lisa Ray November 16 Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar U/A Tanuja Chandra Girish Dhamija Gajra Kottary Mahesh Bhatt Daboo Malik Sajid–Wajid Salim Bijnori Anwar Sagar Nasir Faraaz Faaiz Anwar Ameesha Patel Gulshan Grover Jimmy Shergill Nafisa Ali2002 February 1 Raaz A Vikram Bhatt Girish Dhamija Mahesh Bhatt Nadeem-Shravan Sameer Ashutosh Rana Bipasha Basu Dino Morea Malini Sharma September 20 Gunaah A Amol Shetge Mahesh Bhatt Pranay Narayan Anand Raj Anand Sajid–Wajid Praveen Bhardwaj, Anand Bakshi Bipasha Basu Dino Morea Irrfan Khan2003 July 4 Saaya U/A Anurag Basu Amol Shetge Anu Malik M. M. Keeravani Sayeed Quadri John Abraham Mahima Chaudhry Tara Sharma August 15 Footpath A Vikram Bhatt Girish Dhamija Mahesh Bhatt Himesh Reshammiya Nadeem-Shravan Sameer Aftab Shivdasani Bipasha Basu Emraan Hashmi Rahul Dev October 24 Inteha A Vikram Bhatt Girish Dhamija Mahesh Bhatt Anu Malik Rahat Indori, Praveen Bhardwaj and Dev Kohli Ashmit Patel Nauheed Cyrusi Vidya Malvade2004 April 2 Murder A Anurag Basu Anurag Basu Subodh Chopra Rahat Indori Sayeed Quadri Ashmit Patel Emraan Hashmi Mallika Sherawat September 24 Tumsa Nahin Dekha: A Love Story U/A Anurag Basu Subodh Chopra Nadeem–Shravan Sameer Emraan Hashmi Dia Mirza Anupam Kher2005 Film Star U Tanuja Chandra Girish Dhamija Jatin–Lalit Daboo Malik Mahima Chaudhry Priyanshu Chatterjee Vasundhara Das March 25 Zeher A Mohit Suri Mohit Suri Jay Dixit Anu Malik Roop Kumar Rathod Mithoon Sayeed Quadri Emraan Hashmi Sameer Kochhar Shamita Shetty Udita Goswami May 20 Nazar A Soni Razdan Mahesh Bhatt Anand Sivakumaran Anu Malik Aly Khan Ashmit Patel Meera Rupak Mann December 9 Kalyug A Mohit Suri Mohit Suri Jay Dixit Anand SivakumaranAnu Malik, Mithoon, Gauhar Mumtaz, Rohit Hyatt-Faisal Rafi Sayeed Quadri Amrita Singh Emraan Hashmi Kunal Khemu2006 April 28 Gangster A Anurag Basu Mahesh Bhatt Pritam Mayur Puri Neelesh Misra Sayeed Quadri Emraan Hashmi Kangana Ranaut Shiney Ahuja July 21 The Killer A Hasnain Hydrabadwala, Raksha Mistry Mahendra Lakhan Sajid–Wajid Sayeed Quadri Emraan Hashmi Irfan Khan Nisha Kothari September 29 Woh Lamhe A Mohit Suri Mahesh Bhatt Pritam Sayeed Quadri Kangana Ranaut Shiney Ahuja2007 June 29 Awarapan U/A Mohit Suri Shagufta Rafique Pritam, Mustafa Zahid Asif Ali Baig Annie Khalid Sayeed Quadri Emraan Hashmi Mrinalini Sharma Shriya Saran August 31 Dhokha U/A Pooja Bhatt Shagufta Rafique M. M. Keeravani Shagufta Rafique Ashutosh Rana Aushima Sawhney Muzammil Ibrahim Tulip Joshi December 28 Showbiz U Raju Khan Shagufta Rafique Lalit Pandit Tushar Jalota Gulshan Grover
Mrinalini Sharma Sushant Singh2008 May 16 Jannat U/A Kunal Deshmukh Vishesh Bhatt Pritam Kamran Ahmed Neelesh Misra Sayeed Quadri Emraan Hashmi Javed Sheikh Sonal Chauhan Sameer Kochhar Vishal Malhotra2009 January 23 Raaz – The Mystery Continues A Mohit Suri Shagufta Rafique Gourov Dasgupta Pranay M Rijia Raju Singh Sharib Sabri Toshi Sabri Kumaar Sayeed Quadri Adhyayan Suman Emraan Hashmi Kangana Ranaut July 17 Jashnn U/A Hasnain Hyderabadwala Raksha Mistry Nouman Javaid Sandesh Shandilya Sharib Sabri Toshi Sabri Kumaar Neelesh Misra Nouman Javaid Adhyayan Suman Anjana Sukhani Humayun Saeed Shahana Goswami November 13 Tum Mile U/A Kunal Deshmukh Pritam Kumaar Sayeed Quadri Emraan Hashmi Soha Ali Khan2010 October 8 Crook A Mohit Suri Ankur Tewari Kumaar Emraan Hashmi Emraan Hashmi Arjan Bajwa2011 July 8 Murder 2 A Mohit Suri Mahesh Bhatt Shagufta Rafique Harshit Saxena Mithoon Sangeet Haldipur Siddharth Haldipur Kumaar Mithoon Sayeed Quadri Emraan Hashmi Jacqueline Fernandez Prashant Narayanan Sudhanshu Pandey2012 March 30 Blood Money A Vishal Mahadkar Upendra Sidhye Jeet Gannguli Pranay M Rijia Sangeet Haldipur Siddharth Haldipur Kumaar Sayeed Quadri Amrita Puri Kunal Khemu May 4 Jannat 2 A Kunal Deshmukh Shagufta Rafique Pritam Sayeed Quadri Emraan Hashmi Esha Gupta Randeep Hooda September 7 Raaz 3 A Vikram Bhatt Shagufta Rafique Jeet Gannguli Rashid Bipasha Basu Emraan Hashmi Esha Gupta2013 February 15 Murder 3 U/A Vishesh Bhatt Mahesh Bhatt Pritam Roxen (band) Sayeed Quadri Randeep Hooda Aditi Rao Hydari Sara Loren April 26 Aashiqui 2 U Mohit Suri Shagufta Rafique Jeet Gannguli Mithoon Ankit Tiwari Aditya Roy Kapoor