The Disciple

There is a languid, dreamlike quality that persists in much of 'The Disciple', accentuated by the recurring use of 'tanpura' drone in the background and scenes of the protagonist riding his motorcycle through empty nighttime Mumbai in slow motion. They manage to reinforce a detached state of mind, both for the viewer and for the protagonist. Factually, the film may deal with a specific subgenre of Indian Classical vocal music (a subject I am not versed in, at all), but the observations made so acutely and the opinions expressed so eloquently have a tremendous universal relatability. And not just classical music, they hold true for any pure art form, be it pottery or printmaking. The film is overall a character study spanning three stages in the protagonist's life as he fights hard to prevent himself from being engulfed by social obligations and invariable complications of urban living - like fame, sustainability, professional jealousy, ego - that go against the teachings of his old, reclusive mentor, who is a pure practitioner of the craft. Most efficiently written, acted, crafted, paced - a definitely wholesome film.

The Disciple (2020) : Movie Review -

Since Chaitanya Tamhane's debut film Court (2014) made waves across the nation despite being a non commercial regional film, the speculations about his next film being on that level were increasing the heat. The Disciple recieved wide acclaim in foreign countries and film festivals and the heat became even hotter. Alright now, The Disciple lives upto the hype and yes even according to critics mindset. Chaitanya Tamhane delivers 2nd consecutive Gem of Realistic cinema and brings forgotten treasure into limelight though melodious, poetic and allegorical manners.

The film is about an aspiring young guy Sharad Nerulkar who wants to become a classical singer and believes in Music and his legendary music teachers. His journey begins from childhood by lessons from his Father, then lessons from his Guru in teenage and simultaneously he listens to audio tapes of renowned classical singer who used to have unbelievable talent but never got recognisation. The film derives through subversive changes in Sharad's life and personality and his new discoveries about life. The writing is meaningful, screenplay is highly realistic and the narrative is subtle with some brilliant outcome.

Aditya Modak in lead role is outstanding in every frame, call even a sidelined scene and he has done his 100% in that scene too. Arun Dravid as his Guruji is naturally brilliant and realistically favourable to the context of the character. The supporting cast is equally good and noteworthy even if they have small roles. The musical part of the film something which makes it melodious and it feels mesmerizing to listen Classical Raags.

Director Chaitanya Tamhane deserves big round of applause for putting a great show yet again. He knows the essence of every single field of filmmaking and it shows up on screen. You can notice how he makes an ordinary scene look so poetic and allegorical just by using slow motion pan frame and background music. He likes to keep it real more than dramatic which is why both of his films have been loved by critics and quality cinema lovers. The Disciple is another cinematic gem from Tamhane which can't be missed by any Movie Buff. Relive the forgotten treasure of classical music and legendary thoughts and discover something of your own.

RATING - 8/10*

Amazing casting. Wonderful to watch a 77 year-old MIT PhD and IIT-Mumbai gold medalist act in the role of the Guruji (a rough equivalent a master in the field). He was not acting most of the time, he was actually singing the ragas! I suspected this while watching the film and wondered if the actors were being helped by playback, which would have been difficult to accomplish Aging process of Aditya Modak another real life singer, is a tribute to the make-up department. The real winners of the film are the slow-motion sequences of the lonely motorbike rider in the night with the sitar music on the soundtrack--one of the finest urban sequences in Indian cinema captured by the young Polish cinematographer Michal Sobocinski. Good editing and screenplay by the director Chjaitnaya Tamhane. Thanks to the Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron ("Roma," "Y ti mama tambien"), who partially bankrolled the film. India looks so clean and wonderful in this film!

'The Disciple' is a movie about a journey of an artist and how it pans out over the years. This movie is beautifully directed with on the spot set pieces and full of Indian classical music. The music is so tastefully presented that, even if you are not familiar with it, it sucks you in with its atmosphere and carries over the whole movie.

I speak Marathi, so it was even better experience for me, as the dialogs feels very natural along with all the production. The movie moves slowly, showing us daily struggles of an artist who wants to make it big in field with rapidly declining scope. This along with an amazing lead performance and atmospheric music and brilliant production design makes it worth a watch.

Its a very solid character study, I can easily see this getting such a wide applause.

Disciple portrays the journey of an artist through the decay of outreach of indian classical music. The themes like commercialization and industrialization of music through the eyes of the protagonist has been vividly brought to screen. It has been evident that Tamhane is not an actor's director ,you could see that in his films, camera focuses a scene with actors in it but not on the actor who is in the scene but still you could relate to the main protagonist. The editing,cinematography has been smooth rather than raw approach he has taken in "Court".