By Arré Bench Sep. 14, 2020
Marathi filmmaker Chaitanya Tamhane was honoured with the prestigious International Critics’ Prize and the Best Screenplay Award for his feature film The Disciple at the Venice Film Festival. It’s a big moment for Indian cinema but unfortunately prime time news is reserved for Kangana Ranaut these days.
As the country focused its attention on a celebrity embroiled in a feud with the Maharashtra government, a Marathi filmmaker was in the process of bringing international acclaim to the state in Venice. Director Chaitanya Tamhane was honoured with the prestigious International Critics’ Prize, and the Best Screenplay Award for his Marathi feature film The Disciple at the closing ceremony of the Venice Film Festival, 2020.
Chaitanya Tamhane’s The Disciple wins at Venice Film Festival | The Indian Express https://t.co/C1TSyzyPuh
— nikhil wagle (@waglenikhil) September 12, 2020
The Disciple, which beat out competition from other stalwarts across the world to win the honour, revolves around the personal and professional experiences of a Hindustani classical singer in Mumbai. It’s executive producer is Alfonso Cuaron, the director of acclaimed films like Gravity and Roma.
THE DISCIPLE (2020) by Chaitanya Tamhane – International Trailer https://t.co/UxUby299MD via @YouTube
— A.R.Rahman (@arrahman) September 12, 2020
The Disciple is also the first Indian film to compete at the prestigious Venice festival since Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding in 2001. But this isn’t the first time the filmmaker himself has been in the international spotlight. His previous film Court, was arguably the most high-profile Indian film in 2014, when it was our official entry to the 88th Oscars.
As reported by Firstpost, it all started in the office of Balaji Telefilms 16 years ago when Tamhane was tasked with developing a serial called, “Kya Hoga Nimmo Ka?” Soon after, at the age of 21, he had already written and directed a play, Grey Elephants in Denmark, which is also when he met his collaborator and the star of his films Vivek Gomber.
We gave Chaitanya Tamhane's THE DISCIPLE the @FIPRESCI International Critics Prize, something I've been wanting to do since watching and loving COURT here in Venice six years ago. A gem of nuance and sophistication and the best film I saw at #Venezia77.
— Tommaso Tocci (@Cinelais) September 11, 2020
Tamhane credits Gombar for instilling faith in him and enabling him to write and direct Court. Following the success of that film, Tamhane also got his chance to meet and work with iconic Mexican filmmaker Cuaron. While on the sets for Roma, the two developed a professional bond, and Cuaron was roped in to work as a producer on The Disciple, which has been under development for the last four years.
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Chaitanya Tamhane brings his craft and discipline to The Disciple, the story of a conflicted musician in Mumbai. His mentor Alfonso Cuaron calls it stunning.
(writes @anupamachopra) https://t.co/Mlrj7F3sI7
— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) August 9, 2020
The filmmaker, who cast mostly first-time actors for his latest film, has also won the praise of industry colleagues back home, including directors Anurag Kashyap and Alankrita Shrivastava as well as actors Swara Bhasker and Tillotama Shome.
👏👏👏👏👏 https://t.co/PCyhWkhYpj
— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) September 12, 2020
The Disciple by Chaitanya Tamhane and produced by VIvek Gomber wins the Best Screenplay at @la_Biennale !! What a feat!! What a team!! Chaitanya, Gomber, Pooja, Micah, Naren, Tanaji, Rakesh ji and to the whole cast and crew a big salute!! #TheDisciple #VeniceFilmFestival pic.twitter.com/9Cd4oE8kWV
— Tillotama Shome (@TillotamaShome) September 12, 2020
What fantastic news!!! Congratulations to #ChaitanyaTamhane and my favourite #VivekGomber. 💜 #TheDisciple wins Best Screenplay at #Venezia77 https://t.co/ylPJFWg7eg
— Alankrita Shrivastava (@alankrita601) September 13, 2020
Proud moment for Indian Cinema! Congratulations #ChaintanyaTamhane and team #TheDisciple 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳 https://t.co/Kx1z1iK2fp
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) September 13, 2020
The Disciple, will now premiere virtually at another prestigious event, the Toronto Film Festival, earning the young director another feather in his cap. It also marks a big moment for independent cinema in the country, which is often ignored in favour of the most recent Bollywood blockbuster.
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