The Disciple

Chaitanya Tamhane's 'The Disciple' is a multi-layered, beautifully textured character study of a man's journey and devotion to follow a dream he might or might not reach. It's a pretty demanding drama as the story unfolds in slow, melancholic rhythms. Still, it is a very well-made and stirring drama with a strong screenplay, transcendent message, and a mesmerizing sound design, resulting in a satisfying and rewarding viewing experience. Aditya Modak in lead role is outstanding in every frame while Arun Dravid 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.

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.

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".

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*

In his interview with Anupama Chopra, Chaitanya confessed that he did not knew a lot about Indian classical music. But his movie speaks a lot about music not just about Indian classical music but music as a whole.

His take on Indian music shows, on online trollers who judge the singers when they hardly know about it, his take on Music mafias, on changing music style of music show contestants, on Fusion bands in colleges, on failure, on aspiring career in music, on on unpaid fees to classical singers, many things 'The Disciple' talks about with its slow camera movement.

The hustle of protagonist Sharad Nerulkar is clearly visible, the slow death of interest of Indian audience towards Classical music is very well felt.

What i loved most about this movie is that it stands unapologetic to itself, did not tried to make people feel relevance, just telling story as is, without adulteration of dramas to please audience, it does not have it's own opinion on many things, it just show what the reality is.

Clearly best movie made about music. Must watch on Netflix.