The Disciple.
Netflix
Before I saw
The Disciple, I knew nothing about Hindustani, or northern Indian, classical music. By the end of the movie, I knew a little bit more, though I'd still be hard-pressed to follow the different intonations that singers bring to their performances, or to explain how a raga works. (That's the musical framework that allows performers to improvise.) Fortunately, no expertise is needed to appreciate
The Disciple, which is both a welcome introduction to a kind of music we rarely hear onscreen and a richly layered story of a young man's artistic struggle.
His name is Sharad, and he's played with great depth and emotional subtlety by Aditya Modak. It's 2006, and the 24-year-old Sharad lives in Mumbai with his grandmother, working occasionally but spending most of his time studying his chosen art form. Hindustani classical music doesn't just require impeccable technique and brilliant improvisation. It's an all-consuming discipline, demanding a level of spiritual purity that singers can spend a lifetime trying to achieve.