Bhansali made his directorial debut with "" (1996), for which he received the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Film. He rose to prominence in Hindi-language cinema with the commercially successful romantic drama "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" (1999), the epic romantic drama "Devdas" (2002) — for which he received a nomination for the Best Film Not in the English Language at British Academy of Film & Television Awards (BAFTA) — and the drama "Black" (2005), for all of which he received multiple Best Director Awards and Best Film Awards along with additional Critics Award for Best Film for the latter at Filmfare Awards, and multiple National Film Awards for the latter two. He followed it by directing consecutive commercially unsuccessful films such as "Saawariya" (2007) and "Guzaarish" (2010), however, "Guzaarish" received positive reviews from critics and audiences.