Review: 'The Music Teacher'

Regret and anger can become a comfortable prison - particularly when love is involved. Things go wrong and initially you're consumed with the anger and the unfairness of the situation. But it's easy to slide into a feeling of resignation and despondency. If you allow it to, regret and loss can be a warm refuge from the rest of the world. You don't move forward, you don't open yourself up to loving again. But that familiar sadness can be addictive in its loneliness. That feeling is at the heart of the new Netflix movie "Music Teacher," an Indian film that has some wonderful moments but never quite resonates the way it should. 

Manav Kaul plays Beni, a small town music teacher whose life is stuck in a bittersweet holding pattern. He longs to be a singing star in Mumbai but he is haunted by the success of a former student Jyotsna Ray (Amrita Bagchi), who has become everything he ever dreamed of experiencing. He is angry, bitter and also living with the fact that he passed up her love when he had the chance. Now he lives his life in a holding pattern, waiting for a reconciliation that seems unlikely to ever take place. 

Eight years after they split, Beni has returned to his small town following the death of his father. And surrounded by memories of that lost opportunity, his life is stuck in emotional amber. He is unable to forget Jvotsna and unwilling to open his heart to a woman who not only loves his singing, but for the man he has become.

When the town invites Jvotsna to come back home to accept an award and perform for her home town, Beni sees this as his chance to finally live his dream. To somehow will his dream into existence, no matter how unlikely the outcome.

"Music Teacher" is an erratically paced movie and it has an ending that just seems to end the story with an unsatisfying non-resolution. But the cast is solid and Amrita Bagchi is absolutely stunning. And it's worth watching the entire movie just to see the long-awaited meeting between Beni and Jvotsna. The scene is maybe five minutes long, but it is a master class in acting. There is so much loss and sadness and resignation on the screen that you'll find yourself almost unable to breath. But it's also a frustrating experience, since none of the rest of the movie rises to anywhere near that level of excellence.

In the end, "Music Teacher" isn't a movie worth seeking out. But if you want a Bollywood movie with some emotional depth, it's not a bad choice.