The Disciple: Notes from the journey of a Hindustani classical musician

The stage is set. Members of the audience have occupied their seats. An ensemble of artistes from the Alwar School of Hindustani music is performing. At the centre of the group, Pandit Vinayak Pradhan is singing. He is surrounded by other artists playing instruments like tabla, sarangi and a couple of tanpuras. The camera zooms in on one of the tanpura players — a man who sways with the music, fully engrossed in it. And just like that, we are introduced to 24-year-old Sharad Nerulkar, a student of Pandit ji.

This is how the film ‘The Disciple’ opens for the viewers. Directed by Chaitanya Tamhane, who shot to fame with his 2014 courtroom drama Court, the movie tells the story of Sharad Nerulkar, a student who devotes himself to music completely in the hopes to become a successful artiste. But whether he reaches what he is chasing or not, is what keeps us glued to the film.

Aditya Modak as Sharad Nerulkar in The Disciple. (Image courtesy: Netflix)

Tamhane is known to bring out issues that are seldom shown in mainstream movies, and The Disciple is not an exception. The movie’s narrative takes us into the classical music scene, which the majority Indian population is unfortunately oblivious to. In today’s era, where teenagers are becoming famous through clickbait content on Instagram, dedicating one’s entire life to an art form, which may or may not bear any fruit in the long run, is something that youngsters might not even relate to. But this is the path that any classical music enthusiast has to tread. There is no substitute to rigorous practice to perfect this art form. And Sharad walks this arduous path, putting a lot at stake. 

Rooted in his relationship with his guru, Sharad tries to find his feet in the world as he struggles to make his name in the world of music. He sacrifices the lure of money and fame in his pursuit to achieve greatness. His middle-class background doesn’t make things easy for him. But his devotion is such that whenever he rides his motorcycle, he listens to old tapes of a deceased singer nicknamed ‘Maai’ wherein she lectures her pupils to let go of all worldly pleasures to pursue music relentlessly.

A still from The Disciple. (Image courtesy: Netflix)

Frustration, disillusionment and suffering accompany Sharad through and through. He embodies the artiste who hasn’t ‘made it’ yet. His struggles as a singer are in stark contrast to reality show contestants whom he watches on television, who use those platforms and advance their music careers swiftly. Yet he continues to persevere, resorting to teaching children in order to make ends meet. 

With Polish cinematographer Michal Sobocinski, Tamhane weaves every scene almost as a painter. The slow-motion scenes with Maai’s commentary serve as interludes in the movie. Aditya Modak, who plays Sharad, delivers a splendid performance, depicting the inner conflict and angst of an under-appreciated artist with perfection. Arun Dravid, who plays Sharad’s guru, also depicts his depleting health and frailties of old age with a sombre sensibility. Both Modak and Dravid are classical singers in real life, lending the movie more authenticity.

The biggest achievement of the movie lies perhaps in its depiction of Sharad as a human with his insecurities and feelings of jealousy on seeing his peers’ progress, and his visible irritation whenever his grandmother nags him to get a ‘regular job.’ He even gets frustrated when his guru points out his mistakes even after so many years of practice. All of this makes him feel like a failure, but humanises him to the audience. The Disciple depicts Sharad’s story without sugar-coating anything, yet we don’t find it too harsh or hard-hitting.And in this lies the success of the movie, cementing Tamhane’s reputation as a master storyteller.

The Disciple is streaming on Netflix.