Disciples(2026)

Storyline

Two boys enter a revered Hindu school located on the banks of the Ganges River in the holy city of Varanasi, India, to study ancient scriptures and spiritual teachings. As their time at the school continues, they gradually discover that their lessons aren't quite what they appeared to be—something darker and more troubling lies beneath the surface of what they're being taught. What begins as spiritual education becomes an increasingly uncomfortable source of confusion and growing concern for them.

“Where sacred teachings hide troubling truths”

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Cast & Crew

Trivia

• Varanasi, where the film is set, is considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on Earth and has been the centre of Sanskrit learning and Hindu religious education for over two thousand years.
• The schools depicted in the film are likely traditional gurukuls or Sanskrit pathshalas, where young boys — called shishyas — live with a guru and study Vedic texts, a system largely unchanged since ancient times.
• Gaining access to film inside a traditional religious institution in Varanasi is notoriously difficult; documentary filmmakers often spend months building trust with school authorities before a camera is ever allowed through the door.
• The Ganga riverbank setting carries deep symbolic weight in Hindu tradition — the river is believed to cleanse sin and bear witness to all things, making it a quietly powerful backdrop for a story about hidden wrongdoing.
• India has seen a growing number of investigative reports and legal cases involving abuse inside residential religious schools, giving the film's premise a sharp real-world urgency beyond its spiritual setting.
• Documentary filmmaking on sensitive religious subjects in India has a strong precedent, with films like Anand Patwardhan's work showing that such stories can find both festival audiences and spark genuine public debate.
• The choice to focus on two boys rather than a broader survey gives the film an intimate, character-driven structure — a common approach in observational documentaries that want viewers to feel, not just understand, what is at stake.