Directed by Rahi Anil Barve on a meagre budget, Tumbbad is a gorgeous looking horror film. It is arguably one of the best horror films in the Hindi industry.
The film is set in Tumbbad, a village where it is perennially raining. Pandurang, Vinayak Rao's 14-year-old son, hears about the Goddess of Prosperity from his father. The earth is her womb, and she represents limitless abundance and food in the form of grain and gold. She gave birth to 160 million gods when the universe was born. Her first and most cherished child, Hastar, was gluttonous and wanted all of her food and riches. Hastar was able to take the goddess' gold, but as he was going to feed the goddess, the other gods assaulted him.
The goddess then saved him, but only on the condition that he would never be worshipped and that history would forget him. Hastar dozed off within his mother's womb for years. But the people of Tumbbad, where Hastar has been imprisoned in his mother's womb, disobey this old taboo and construct a temple in honour of Hastar. The gods become enraged by this and curse the village, bringing about a never-ending shower of rain over it.
On the outskirts of this village, the protagonist, Vinayak, lives with his mother, younger brother, and an eerie old woman. It is the interactions with these characters where the horror really comes through to the viewer. It is not just the phenomenon that is scary, but every aspect of the environment that the characters are in. The viewer ends up looking at all of it with a lens of suspicion, and many times fear.
The questionable CGI takes more away from the fear than it is supposed to create. Considering that the plot required the effects and that the film was operating on a very limited budget, it was a fantastic film even then. Perhaps the most notable outcome of this film is the universal comment it makes on greed and its impact. In the plot of the film, greed has ravaged 3 generations of a family. Its trauma has a lasting impact. The moral of this film echoes deeply at the end, when Pandurang, Vinayak’s son, sees his life go up in flames at a very young age.
Despite being a period piece, Tumbbad stands the test of time by commenting on issues that are both relevant and evocative in today’s time. The last shot is of emptiness, of anguish. Pandurang closes the door on Tumbbad forever, breaking the generational curse. His decision to not accept Hastar’s lioncloth is a clear indication of how even though he had extreme admiration for his father and grew up to become just like him, he was also his mother’s son, who could understand the materiality and horror of what greed was doing to her husband.
Thus, the film addresses the landscape of the human mind with its reliance on the shape of Indian history and mythology. It is a shining example of just how many folks tales are untold all over the country.
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