Tumbbad

Story:

Rahi Anil Barve and Anand Gandhi directed the 2018 period folk horror film Tumbbad, which was scripted by Mitesh Shah, Adesh Prasad, Barve, and Anand Gandhi. It tells the tale of Vinayak Rao, played by Sohum Shah, as he searches the Indian town of Tumbbad, Maharashtra, for a hidden 20th-century treasure. Inspired by a narrative by Marathi author Narayan Dharap, Barve started writing the script in 1993. At the age of eighteen, he finished the first draft in 1997. He produced a 700-page storyboard for the movie between 2009 and 2010. Although it was shot in 2012, Barve and Shah were not happy with the final product after editing.

Filming was finished by May 2015 after the movie was rewritten and reshot. Ajay-Atul wrote a song for the soundtrack, and Jesper Kyd wrote the original score. Tumbbad, the first Indian film to be shown at the 75th Venice International Film Festival, debuted in the critics’ week section. On October 12, 2018, it debuted in theaters to largely favorable reviews, with critics complimenting the narrative, production design, and cinematography.

The film, which had a production budget of ₹15 crore (US$1.8 million), made a total of ₹53.46 crore (US$6.3 million) from both its original run and its 2024 re-release, which became the second highest-grossing re-released Indian film. At the 64th Filmfare Awards, it won three of its eight nominations for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, and Best Sound Design. It has developed a cult following over time and is regarded as one of the greatest Hindi horror movies.

Plot

Vinayak Rao tells the story of the mother of all the gods, the goddess of wealth, and the representation of limitless grain and riches. Hastar, her avaricious son, got all of her gold, but when he went after the grain, the other gods united and destroyed him. On the understanding that he would be forgotten, the Goddess protected him inside her womb, saving his life. But when the people of Tumbbad constructed a temple for the worship of Hastar, the gods became enraged and punished the settlement with constant rain.

Vinayak’s mother, who is the zamindar Sarkar’s mistress in 1918, wants a piece of his enigmatic wealth. Vinayak resides at home with his brother Sadashiv and an elderly woman who is shackled in a different room. Sadashiv’s mother takes him to the hospital after he sustains injuries after falling from a tree. When Vinayak tries to feed the woman, she gets away and tries to devour him. He calls upon Hastar’s name, causing her to drift off to sleep. Vinayak and his mother depart for Pune when Sarkar and Sadashiv pass away.

After fifteen years, Vinayak goes back to his Tumbbad home in search of Sarkar’s riches. The elderly woman, who is still alive and has a tree growing out of her body, promises to tell him where the wealth is if he puts an end to her agony. She shows him how to find the riches by guiding him to the goddess’ womb, which is inside Sarkar’s palace. Hastar lives within the womb, starving for ages since the Goddess refused to give him grain. Vinayak forms a circle of flour to shield himself as he descends inside the womb using a rope. After luring Hastar with a doll made of wheat dough, he rapidly escapes the womb by stealing gold coins off Hastar’s loincloth while he is preoccupied.

After burning the woman, Vinayak continues to journey from Pune to Tumbbad in order to gather more coins, which he then sells to his buddy and moneylender Raghav. Raghav is curious about the source of Vinayak’s newfound income. He follows Vinayak to Tumbbad, who uses a dough doll to mislead him into going into the goddess’ womb. Vinayak burns Raghav to put an end to his agony after Hastar attacks him.

Vinayak’s family life is failing in 1947 and he is overcome by greed and depravity. He takes his son Pandurang to Tumbbad and teaches him how to retrieve Hastar’s coins, cautioning him not to bring a dough doll for the exercise. Hastar assaults them after Pandurang brings it nonetheless, but they both barely escape. Later on, Vinayak finds out that the newly established government of independent India appropriated Sarkar’s residence. In an attempt to obtain as much gold as possible before losing the home, he returns to Tumbbad.

Pandurang tries to entice Hastar with several clay dolls and proposes to steal his entire loincloth. But inside the womb, Hastar multiplies into numerous clones, ensnaring them. Pandurang escapes when Vinayak, as a final option, binds the dolls about himself and confronts Hastar and his clones. After emerging from the womb, Pandurang meets the now-cursed Vinayak, who extends Hastar’s loincloth to him. Refusing, Pandurang invokes the name of Hastar to put him to sleep, burns him, and departs Tumbbad.