NYFF 2020: The Disciple Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s New York Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

The Disciple is an example of a film about a person with a strong interest in something who wants to become great.  Sharad Nerulkar (Modak) is fiercely consumed with a deep passion for singing and playing Indian classical music. He studies under a famous musician (Dravid) and practices for many hours. While he has some talent, it has never been enough to make him truly extraordinary. Unfortunately, this cinematic depiction of this struggle, personally, didn’t quite work.

The main issue with The Disciple was how it felt like two disjointed halves. The first half introduces the characters and Sharad’s struggle. It has a lot of nice singing. However, it also feels repetitive. The only significant conflict is a brief argument between Sharad and the older woman he lives with about his struggles and his unwillingness to accept his mediocrity. Then, the much more interesting second half arrives. The nice singing remains. But questions arise about what it means to be a teacher and the legacy of teachers in how they pass knowledge down to their students. There is also the question of whether or not the great master who Sharad reveres and who taught Sharad’s own teacher was a fraud. These issues do help elevate the film, but only slightly.

In the end, The Disciple is a tale of two halves. The first half features a lot of singing nice music. But it also is very repetitive and lacking plot. The second half features more nice music. However, it also has a lot more tension and drama with its characters and plot. It’s decent enough, but something not worth revisiting.

still courtesy of NYFF

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Guest Writer