First published on Fri 4 Sep 2020 10.30 EDT
Chaitanya Tamhaneâs The Disciple comes boldly billed as the first Indian film to play in Venice competition since Mira Nairâs Monsoon Wedding won the Golden Lion in 2001, just before the Twin Towers fell. Thatâs a long time for a nationâs film-makers to sit on the sidelines, left out in the cold â assuming they ever saw it that way. Possibly they did not. The Disciple, for one, is about the virtues and pitfalls of steering oneâs own course. Its hero is embarked on a long, lonely quest. The bright lights and red carpets hold little attraction for him.
Photo: Netflix
Too many movies feel like they were written by guidance counselors. “Believe in yourself, and you can do anything,” they insist, cheerleading for aspiring artists, athletes, and astronauts. But what if what you want to do with your life is notoriously difficult? And what if you’re just not that great at it?
The Disciple, a wry and perceptive new drama from the Indian filmmaker Chaitanya Tamhane, shows what following your dreams looks like when those dreams are lofty on an almost historical scale. It could just as easily be called
The Discipline, for how rigorously it privileges the Sisyphean
Chaitanya Tamhane s The Disciple , winner of Venice Film Festival, to drop on Netflix
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Last Updated: Jan 27, 2021, 04:05 PM IST
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The film is executive-produced by Oscar winner Alfonso Cuaron. The Disciple , written and edited by Tamhane, follows Sharad Nerulkar (Aditya Modak), an Indian classical vocalist trying to achieve purity in his work as he has been raised on the stories of his father and guru about the masters of the past.
LOS ANGELES: Streaming platform Netflix has picked up critically-acclaimed and award-winning musical drama The Disciple , directed by Indian director Chaitanya Tamhane.
The Marathi language film, executive-produced by Oscar winner Alfonso Cuaron, made its European premiere at the 77th Venice Film Festival where it won the best screenplay award last year.