American Cinematographer - January 2021 - 26

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Chasing a
Dream in India
Michal Sobocinski, PSC empathizes
with a musician's quest for perfection
in The Disciple. By Stephen Pizzello

Photos courtesy of Zoo Entertainment.

he pursuit of mastery in any art form can be a rewarding and fulfilling experience, but the Indian film The Disciple details the hard
realities of an uncompromising commitment to excellence.
Inspired by his father, a guru, and the disciplined traditions of
Indian classical music, Sharad Nerulkar (Aditya Modak) has devoted
his life to the goal of becoming an enlightened and soulful vocalist.
But as the years go by, the sacrifices he makes, the hardships he endures, and the indifferent response to his singing take a heavy toll on his spirit.
The Disciple was directed by Chaitanya Tamhane and executive-produced by renowned filmmaker Alfonso Cuaroń. The acclaim Tamhane received for his first feature, Court, led to his selection for a Rolex-sponsored protégé program, which in turn
allowed him to shadow Cuaron throughout prep, production and post of the latter's
autobiographical feature Roma. When Tamhane was considering cinematographers
for The Disciple, Cuaroń's frequent collaborator Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC endorsed Polish cinematographer Michał Sobocinski, PSC, whose evocative period imagery helped the 2017 feature The Art of Loving win the Polish Films Competition at
the Camerimage festival and led to his selection as one of American Cinematographer's Rising Stars of Cinematography in 2018 (AC Feb. '18).
Sobocinski has cinematography in his genes. His grandfather, Witold Sobocinski,
PSC, worked as a director of photography for Andrzej Wajda and Roman Polanski on
projects including The Promised Land and Frantic, respectively; his father, Piotr Sobocinski, PSC, received an Oscar nomination for his work on Krzysztof Kieslowski's
Three Colors: Red; and his brother, Piotr Sobocinski Jr., PSC, is also an accomplished
cinematographer whose most recent feature, Corpus Christi, earned an Academy
Award nomination for Best International Feature Film.
He had already been shooting commercials in India for several months when
Tamhane reached out to him by phone, not realizing that Sobocinski was already in
the country. The two met, along with producer Vivek Gomber, who gave the cinematographer a copy of the script.
Sobocinski, a guitar-shredding rocker in his spare time who also plays piano and
drums, says the central drama of The Disciple held immediate appeal for him, both as
a musician and a visual artist. " I didn't know much about this form of Indian music,
but for me the story addressed a very universal subject: the fading of a dream, " he
says. " I could relate to the main character's struggle, which is familiar to anyone who
pursues a career in an artistic field. If you really want to succeed, it's almost like becoming a monk, but it doesn't always work out. You could spend 20 years trying to be
the best DP in the world, but if you don't have it, you won't make it. "

26 / JANUARY 2021

American Cinematographer - January 2021

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