Starting his career in 1975 with Prayanam, Bharathan rode to fame with his off-beat Thakara, a film about a dumb-witted central character who falls in love with the village beauty.

In the early 1980s, he made several notable movies like Chamaram, Marmaram, Paalangal, Ormakkayi, Kattathe Kilikkoodu, Kathodu Kathoram, and many more.

The film was a departure from Bharathan's usual style and proved to be a major commercial hit while garnering critical acclaim, too.

Scripted by the iconic Malayalam novelist M. T. Vasudevan Nair, it was an adaptation of a sub-story told in the epic Mahabharata.

The style was inspired by classic Westerns with a brooding, reticent central character and expansive shots of barren landscape.

His more experimental films include Aaravam, more an arthouse than a commercial venture, and Nidra, about the plight of a woman who is in love with a mentally deranged man.

Rathinirvedam, originally directed by Bharathan, which was a noted film, was also remade by another famous director, T. K. Rajeev Kumar, with Swetha Menon in the lead.

(e.g., lyrics for "Thaaram Valkannadi Nokki" in Keli and "Tharum Thalirum Mizhipootti" in Chilambu or title song for Kathodu Kathoram).

Melodrama and escapism, often integral parts of mainstream cinema in India, were usually absent in his films.

Rathinirvedam was the sexual-coming-of-age story of the relationship between a teenager and an older woman, while Chamaram dealt with the tumultuous affair between a student and his college lecturer.

Thaazhvaaram was stylistically inspired by classic Hollywood Westerns, though the theme and backdrop were distinctly original.

His mortal remains were brought back to his ancestral home at Wadakkancherry and cremated with full state honours.