Etching the best of yourself for more than three decades in an art form, only to end up being mediocre will surely leave you in a dilemma. And that’s what piqued me (not to forget ‘Court’) into Chaitanya Tamhane’s The Disciple. It is the story of Sharad Nerulkar (Aditya Modak), a young man who aspires to achieve mastery in the devoted Indian Classical music.
The film opens up in a musical concert where Sharad’s Guruji Vinayak Pradhan (Arun Dravid) is performing. And accompanying him is Sharad playing a veena while being delved into his master’s hypnotic music. In this first scene, you can see the fascination Sharad has towards his master, very well conveyed through his eyes. And that’s how the beginning lives up to the title, The Disciple.
A Choice That We Make
The film gives you an impressive insight into the Hindustani classical art form whilst treating you with many fascinating stories bound with this art form. Keeping that aspect aside, it is Sharad’s journey that you personally dive into. There are many instances you’d find yourselves relating it to your own story. Well everyone has one, that can’t be overlooked, at least subconsciously!
Though Sharad has been relentlessly practising music for years, he’s not completely immersed into it. His restlessness and the “fear of being mediocre” unwantedly restricts him from achieving his dreams. Unlike his friends, Sharad is quite impatient and scouts more into the philosophical side of music. Avoiding the surface, his ideologies about the art form is what becomes a catalyst to his restless mind.
He often bikes around the city listening to the philosophical take of Maai (Sumitra Bhave). And this leads to Sharad setting up a different perspective about music, listening to Maai’s views. His old-school thoughts become a conflicted side amid the changing world around him. Decades have passed and still Sharad continues to live with his dilemma. But for how long? There comes a time when he needs to make a firm decision and he does so.
The Evolving Mumbai & Dawn Of Commercialization
Sharad sets out on a journey to achieve his musical aspirations, he’s unaware of the fact how the world he resides in is constantly evolving. The dawn of the internet has fueled commercialization to the next level wherein Sharad struggles with his mediocrity and his norms about music.
The evolving Mumbai blends in Sharad’s conflicting life and Tamhane stages it perfectly with many subtle scenes. Also, there’s a ‘singing TV reality show’ angle that commingles in the narrative. Wherein, a young girl gets selected in an audition for her impressive classical vocals. Later, throughout her journey in the show, we see her singing romantic ballads and pop songs. This is another way Chaitanya very beautifully resembles the change.
The Disciple Ending: The Selfless Artistic Truth
Chaitanya Tamhane leaves us with a self-decoding climax. Well, there’s no mystery to unfold here, it just gives us a more-humanized conclusion to a failed artist’s story. After discontinuing his journey towards mastery, Sharad, just like most of us, decides to accept the truth of his life. In the closing shot where Sharad is seen travelling in a local train with his family, a beggar enters the train, playing his musical instrument. As he is roving around the compartment, a couple of passengers are busy shooting him with their phones.
Through this scene, Tamhane might be implying upon the changing views of the society. The artistic world that has just stoop down to the aspect of fame and fortune. And from Sharad’s point of view, he experiences the blissful music that this young beggar is performing through a folk song. Apart from his daily bread, there’s nothing more the pauper wants to achieve, and thus he lives the selfless artistic truth. And this is quite contrary to that of Sharad’s views who was glued to the outcome more than the process.
The Disciple is now streaming on Netflix.
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