Documentary
Amol Palekar makes first documentary on Kishori Amonkar
MUMBAI: The first-ever documentary on music stalwart Kishori Amonkar has been made by Amol Palekar and his wife Sandhya Gokhale.
The 72-minute long film Bhinna Shadja will be screened in Pune at the National Film Archive of India on 30 August.
Talking of how the idea was conceived, Palekar recalls, “Once, she was chatting with me after a concert and the topic of documentaries on different maestros came up. I asked her why there wasn’t even one on her and she said, ‘You are the kind of person who should make it.’ I was taken aback by her response but did not say anything at that moment.”
After a lot of thought, they decided to only focus on her art, her contribution to music and her thought process without going into the nitty gitties. “We were not sure whether she would agree to this or not. However, when we met her, she gave us complete freedom of interpretation. That was a great relief for us considering that in the past, many people including Vijaya Mehta and Nana Patekar did approach her for making a documentary but that didn’t work out,” averred Palekar.
The duo took more than six weeks to respond, which upset Amonkar. But they used that period for homework, looking at more than 40 films and documentaries on various legends from art and culture. “This gave us an idea as to what we shouldn’t be doing,” recollects Gokhale.
Shot in Goa, Mumbai and Pune, the film features music stalwarts such as Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, all recalling their association with Amonkar and her music.
Documentary
Netflix and Warner Music ink landmark documentary deal
The streaming giant has just unlocked one of the richest vaults in music history. Its rivals should be worried
CALIFORNIA AND NEW YORK: Netflix and Warner Music Group have signed an exclusive multi-year deal to produce documentary series and films drawn from the label’s storied artist roster, the companies announced on Friday — a move that hands the streaming platform access to one of the most formidable catalogues in music history.
Warner Music Group represents legends including David Bowie, Cher, Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin and Joni Mitchell, alongside contemporary superstars such as Charli XCX, Coldplay and Bruno Mars. That is a staggering breadth of material for a platform hungry for prestige content and subscriber growth to match.
Under the agreement, Warner Music will work with Unigram, the production company aligned with the label, which will serve as the studio for its long-form projects. Each title will be developed in collaboration with the artists themselves or their estates, ensuring the kind of intimate access that turns a documentary into an event.
The deal reflects an intensifying race between music-rights owners and streaming platforms eager to turn deep catalogues into premium visual content. Music documentaries have become a vehicle for fan-driven, culturally resonant programming — a trend underscored by Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” film, which grossed over $260 million globally and reminded every platform chief just how lucrative the genre can be.
Netflix already boasts formidable credentials in music storytelling, with “Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé” and “Quincy” among its highest-profile releases. The Warner deal sharpens that edge considerably. Rival platforms have not been idle: Disney+ has released “The Beach Boys”, while Max has drawn attention with “Stax: Soulsville U.S.A.” Apple Music, meanwhile, has pushed into original content through its Apple Music Live series, producing documentaries and livestreamed concerts featuring Harry Styles and Billie Eilish.
The battle for music’s visual soul, then, is well and truly on. Netflix has just made its boldest move yet.
