Netflix acquires Chaitanya Tamhane’s The Disciple

Chaitanya Tamhane’s award-winning film The Disciple is making its way to Netflix. The Marathi film, starring Aditya Modak, Arun Dravid and Sumitra Bhave, will be streamed exclusively on the digital platform.

The Disciple, which had its world premiere at the 77th Venice International Film Festival, is executive produced by Oscar winner Alfonso Cuaron.

Since its Venice premiere, The Disciple won the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize (FIPRESCI, short for Federation Internationale de la Presse Cinematographique) and the Best Screenplay Award at the prestigious Italian festival. At the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, it picked up the Amplify Voices Award. Just yesterday, the film was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best International Film.

Set in Mumbai, the Marathi film follows classical vocalist Sharad Nerulkar (Modak) who wants to follow in the footsteps of his guru and father. But on his journey to find himself, he begins to question his devotion and passion to his craft.

In a statement, Tamhane said, “The story of The Disciple came from my own search for excellence and direction. It’s about how many of us follow all the rules and yet, sometimes, find that something is missing. I was honoured to get the opportunity to work with a creative genius (and my mentor) like Alfonso Cuaron — who directed Roma and Gravity. And now, has Netflix acquired it to stream to a discerning global audience.”

He continued, “I’m truly grateful and humbled that global industry stalwarts have found this film worthy. A great deal of research goes into making a film and my aim as a filmmaker has always been to tell my story authentically within a dramatic framework. One also needs to afford the audience intelligence and intuition to be able to invest in your story, no matter what the cultural context may be. I’m glad this approach worked out well for The Disciple.”

Cuaron said he believed Chaitanya was one of the most important new voices of contemporary cinema. "I’m thrilled The Disciple will be able to be enjoyed by audiences all around the world,” he said.

Pratiksha Rao, Netflix India’s director of content acquisition, also said, “We want to be the home for India’s finest films and filmmakers. As we expand our film slate and tell more diverse stories from across the country, we are thrilled to be the home for Chaitanya Tamhane's The Disciple. The film is a beautiful story of aspiration, struggle and self-doubt, and celebrates the magic of visual storytelling in the backdrop of Indian classical music, that we can’t wait to share with the world.”    

A release date has not yet been announced for the feature.