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On the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi, two boys enter a revered Hindu school where lessons in ancient scripture blur into something more troubling.
Eleven-year-olds Satyarth and Hari join a traditional Sanskrit institution run by charismatic Guru Avimuktesh, shaving their heads, donning saffron robes and severing ties with the outside world. What initially appears as rigorous spiritual education gradually reveals a deeper intent, as devotion to ancient texts becomes entangled with caste hierarchy, religious prejudice and nationalist ideology.
Filmed with rare, intimate access over the course of a year, Disciples captures how faith and identity are shaped in childhood, raising urgent questions about what is really being taught when no one is watching.