Tumbbad

Original, unsettling & enveloped with a dreadful aura, Tumbbad is a wicked blend of fantasy & folklore that makes fab use of its rich & riveting mythology to deliver a dark, delirious nightmare, and is all the more strengthened by its claustrophobic set pieces, ominous camerawork & unrelenting score.

Directed by Rahi Anil Barve, the most impressive bit about his first feature is that it is devoid of the awful gimmicks that destroy most Bollywood horrors. It retains its Indian roots, relies on its chilling ambience to ratchet the tension, and doesn't go overboard with most elements, thus keeping the interest alive until the end.

The remote location, period setting, dilapidated sets, perpetual rain & pitch dark alleys contribute plenty in creating a sense of apprehension that keeps us riveted throughout. The sophisticated camerawork & menacing score further amplify the unsettling vibe. Performances, however, are a bit overdone and certainly could've used some restraint.

Overall, Tumbbad is a welcome entry in Bollywood horror with a level of maturity that most of its counterparts lack. Scoring high marks on storytelling & technical fronts, it is a polished piece of work that puts greater emphasis on atmosphere to derive the chills instead of resorting to tiresome clichés, and is neatly executed by the debutant filmmaker. Definitely worth a shot.

TUMBBAD is a small village in India where a shrine was built for a god named Hastar. He was the greedy, malevolent offspring of the goddess of prosperity, and was only spared from obliteration by the other gods, on the condition that he never be worshiped.

This is not a spoiler, since it is told in the first few minutes of the film.

What follows is the story of what happens when human and demonic desires intersect. Hastar's temple is said to contain a vast fortune in a secret chamber. Needless to say, circumstances arise which stir Hastar from his long slumber.

Enter Vinayak Rao (Sohum Shah), a man so driven by his lust for gold that he returns to TUMBBAD fifteen years after a terrible event, in order to find and abscond with Hastar's treasure.

This isn't a good idea. At all.

Rao is an astoundingly single-minded, repellent character, willing to do anything to get what he wants. He truly believes that he can trick a god to attain his riches. His family suffers much for his stubborn folly.

TUMBBAD is no mere monster movie, though the creature is impressive. It's a fantasy / horror fable, much like something from Guillermo del Toro, giving us something to think about while being scared. Some of the plot twists are inspired, especially near the end.

This movie deserves a much wider audience...

We dont deserve movies like Tumbbad. There is no khan in this movie, no item songs, and no big stars. Do yourself a favor by watching #Tumbbad this week. Brilliant direction and breathtaking cinematography. Breaks my heart to see an empty theater on day 2. Contribute to meaningful cinema by watching it in theaters or keep complaining about movies like race3.#TumbbadWinningHearts

This movie is great,has eye catched VFX, Great & Original Story line .. This kind of cinema should be appriciate by indian audience becuase this kind of movie should be made..& this is only possible if Indian Audiences welcome this kind of different & intellectual & Great cinema ..Hatts of to the Producer.. This movie does not do well in box office & the biggest reason behind this is the Taste of Indian cinema that is so poor & the Movie is very rich in every way.....must watch movie..

Would you believe me if I tell you the budget of this film is just 5 crores (nearly $700k)? Before you let that fact sink in, would you believe me if I also tell you that this is the director's first ever film? Rahi Anil Barve - remember this name. You might need to speak it when someone asks you who your favourite Bollywood director is. This film was made for 6 years. Keep reading, I will tell you why it took so long.

Tumbbad is set in the village of the same name in Maharashtra. The story is set during the colonial period, and also some of it just after the independence. Though the village exists in real, it is nothing like what has been described in the film. According to the film the village has been cursed for writing the name of Hastar, a demon son of a Goddess who gave birth to 160 million gods. Because of the curse it is always raining in Tumbbad. Since the budget of this film was so low, the filming was only done during monsoon season when it was actually raining in the village. That's how low the budget of the film is - they couldn't even afford fake rain so they had to wait for 6 years to complete the filming.

In spite of the low budget, it does not give the feeling of being cheap at all. In fact if I didn't know better, I'd think this is a very expensive film. The actors aren't popular, but I don't see where the problem is over there. How many of us knew the names of all the actors from Baahubali? Still we watched it, right? So I'd think this is also a regional film. The acting is phenomenal. The horror scenes absolutely give me the creeps. It's perfect in every sense. Even the ending is left on an ambiguous note, enough to leave a shrill down anyone's spine. The posters of this film are also very good, and it's a shame to say that the worst one has been used over here. Look up for the other posters on Google Images.

The reason why Tumbbad failed to cross a huge commercial mark is because it wasn't advertised at all. If I hadn't read an answer on Quora that said it should have been sent to the Oscars instead of Gully Boy, I'd have never even known about its existence. There was literally no talk of it. Sure it has a low budget for making the film, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't spend in the marketing at all. It was so awesome, I for one would have definitely seen it if I had heard about it before. Also the only way to watch it now is through Prime, which will show you this film only if you type the correct spelling in the search box. It's a shame that you can't watch this film unless you know specifically what you're looking for.

I really admire the dedication of the director to make this film. He clearly knew this film wasn't going to be earning those big bucks, yet he continued to make it. This is what happens when you have directors who treat their work not as products but rather as works of art. I really aspire to be a filmmaker of that type. This film will be a very big lesson to me. I wish Rahi Anil Barve a very successful and prosperous career in the future.