‘It was an impossible dream’: The Disciple team on winning at the Venice Film Festival

Indian filmmaker Chaitanya Tamhane’s ‘The Disciple’ won the Best Screenplay award at Venice International Film Festival during the closing ceremony held on September 12. 

In an interview with Film Companion’s Anupama Chopra, Chaitanya, producer Vivek Gomber, and head of production Tanaji Dasgupta speak about the film’s historic win at the Venice Film Festival. “I didn’t dare to watch my film, so I was staring at the floor. I went through so many emotions and felt that I could have done better. However, it was a special experience,” Tamhane says.

“The kind of support the film is getting from the fraternity is great. The journey has been surreal, emotional,” Gomber adds.

For Tanaji Dasgupta, it was an out of the world experience. “I took him 20 minutes into the film to realise this is happening and everything is going fine. It’s a moment that I’ll never forget.”

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Describing the feeling of walking the red carpet and watching the film in a 1000 seater cinema hall, they called it an “impossible dream.”

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This is the second award the film got at the festival. Earlier, it was honoured with the International Critics’ Prize awarded by FIPRESCI. 

The plot of the film revolves around Sharad Nerulkar, who has devoted his life to becoming an Indian classical music vocalist, diligently following the traditions and discipline of old masters, his guru, and his father.

While talking about how the movie becomes relevant for the western audience, Tamhane says, “We have never tried to make a film for a western audience in particular. We believe that the language of cinema is universal. We have not tried to simplify anything in the movie. When you will watch ‘The Disciple’, you’ll realise that we have retained many technical terms related to music. The viewers will experience a different world through the film”

“We are trying our best to get the film into the cinema in India. A lot is happening behind the screen and all the attention is aiding us. It will soon happen,” says Gomber, while talking about the film’s release in India.