150 Word Review: ‘The Disciple’ (2020)
A love song to failure
One of the best musicals of the last few years is The Disciple, Indian writer-director Chaitanya Tamhane’s compassionate but bluntly honest Marathi-language drama about a singer of Hindustani classical music who dreams of greatness.
Aditya Modak plays Sharad, a dedicated student of Guruji, an impoverished yet brilliant elderly singer. This teacher knows the truth: his disciple will never be truly great. Sharad is passionate and persistent but also mediocre. He tries, but he will never succeed.
The musical scenes are hypnotic and beautiful, especially if you are unfamiliar with the complex and precise melodies of rāgas. As Gurunji, Arun Dravid is outstanding.
In The Disciple, Tamhane is patient with Sharad as he slowly and painfully finds his place in the world. This movie is about losing what you thought you loved and learning to live without it. The movie’s final moments are intoxicating, a rare mix of hope and grief.