- India
THE DISCIPLE
Synopsis
Sharad (Aditya Modak) has devoted his life to classical Hindustani music. In Mumbai he studies under his old guru, listens at night on his motorbike to the lectures of a legendary singer, and holds to the purity of a tradition in which success counts as betrayal. His father passed on to him the music and the stories of the masters; he loses the competitions all the same. Twelve years later he has a paunch, a moustache and little standing – and must ask himself whether devotion is enough when talent is lacking. In “The Disciple” (India 2020), Chaitanya Tamhane tells of the price of earnestness.
After “Court”, it is Tamhane’s second film; the cast is made up of musicians, and the concerts are shown in long takes. It premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival 2020, where the film won the award for best screenplay and the FIPRESCI Prize; an Amplify Voices Award followed in Toronto. “The Disciple” was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2020.
Festival
Shown at the 2020 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.
