The Disciple is an Indian drama, in Marathi, about Sharad Nerulkar(Aditya Modak) an aspiring Indian classical music vocalist in Mumbai, who studies under Guruji(Arun Dravid) and struggles to reconcile familial and societal pressures with his musical ambitions.
Modak gives a wonderfully textured yet restrained performance and his conflict isn't unlike that of something like Whiplash yet it is much more subdued, meditative, and mostly lacking any kind of friction. The supporting cast all singers first and actors second and are all excellent yet most of the focus is on the music itself and the city of Mumbai, perhaps the second biggest performance is only a vocal one by Sumitra Bhave as the voice of Maai, a deceased musical guru, whose lectures Sharad listens to as he rides his motorcycle at night(these sequences are some of the most striking of the year). It is not a character piece or a conventional narrative, it's a beautiful hypnotic tone poem.
The sound design features diegetic performances of Indian classical music as well as non-diegetic scoring of songs in that style, its immersive and entrancing, putting you squarely in the world the lead inhabits. The cinematography is dark and moody but equally contemplative, it doesn't reflect dark emotion or gloom or danger but a soft deliberation. Perhaps the runtime drags a bit and the flashbacks of Sharad's childhood aren't all necessary, yet the film is so striking, so quiet, so subtly impactful, it's missteps are forgettable.
Stunning if hushed, assured if elusive, utterly transportive if a little sleepy.
Currently streaming on Netflix.
See It.
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